Ryuk Returns
by Xilex90
Summary: Ryuk, once again bored in the Shinigami world, enters into bet, involving dropping his Death Note once more. When an average girl in Canada picks it up, hilarity and horrifics insue. **no it will not be a romance** READ and REVIEW!
1. The Bet

**HEY GUYS THIS IS MY FIRST DEATH NOTE STORY (EXCLUDING MY ONESHOT "IT DOESN'T TASTE LIKE APPLES") **

**SO THIS WILL BE FUN ! BE SURE ****TO R AND R!**

* * *

Ryuk looked down at the human world. It had mostly returned to normal since Lights death. It had been 5 years since then.

Ryuk gave a sigh. Not only did he...somewhat miss Light, but he was also bored.

"Hey, Ryuk" came a raspy voice from behind him. Ryuk turned. It was a Shinigami that looked something like a cross between

a bear and a skeleton...with bright red spikes for hair.

"Oh, hey, Kasde," he said, still sounding bored.

"Whatcha doin?"

"Just thinking."

Kasde looked at Ryuk, he was watching the human world. Again. Ryuk had spent 6 years in the Human Realm, and it was well

known that he prefered the human realm. His human had been called "Light" and was likewise, well known.

"Hey Ryuk, do you ever think things might have been gane differently if someone else had found your Death Note?"

Ryuk shrugged, "I dunno. Maybe."

Kasde gave him a skeletal grin, "Wanna make a bet?"

Ryuk pursed his lips, "Depends on what it is..."

"You drop your second Death Note near someone with a personality completely different from Light Yagami. I'll bet they'll turn out

EXACTLY like he did. Humans are so arrogant and greedy..."

Ryuk rolled his eyes. Not all humans...He'd seen plenty that weren't.

"And if the result is completely different? What do I win?"

"You get to be on Earth again until that person dies or gives up the Death Note... less time here in this boring realm. If I win, I get

your extra Death Note."

Ryuk didn't much like that idea, but...

the chance to go back to earth was one he couldn't refuse.

"Deal."

They shook hands on it. Ryuk sprouted his wings and headed for the Human Realm, diving downwards in a flash of lights.

* * *

Scout Hemmings stared out the window of her class room, trying to survive the last few minutes of Algebra. She was a high school

Senior at Shady Meadows High in Canada.

After what seemed like forever, The teacher, Ms. Moss declared the class dismissed.

"Finally!" Scout said, grabbing her bag and scurrying out the door. She hated math class. It was her worst class.

Literature she could do...

Science she could do...

Spanish class she could do...

but Algebra?

Not in a million years.

Harley, one of the boys in her class caught up with her as she stopped at her locker "Hey, Scout, you got anything planned for the

weekend?"

Scout shuffled her feet, "Uh...not really..."

"Oh, then do you wanna go out this Saturday?"

"Well, I, uh..."

She did not know what to say. True, he was one of the popular boys, and really cute, But he was also a nortorius playboy, and a lot

of the girls had been on the recieving end.

In more ways than one...

Suddenly one of her friends, Kathleen hurried over to her, grabbing her arm, "Come on Scout! We're gonna be late for our shift at

**Marie Francois**!" she said pulling her away.

Scout gave a sigh of relief as she put distance between between herself and Harley.

"Thanks Kath, I owe you one," she said, smiling.

Kathleen smirked, pulling on Scout's hair playfully, "You're damn right, you owe me one. I just saved you from Horny Harley."

Scout pushed her away, laughing, "Yeah, yeah, I get it...I just have one question."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Since when do we work at **Marie Francoise**?"

* * *

Ryuk inhaled deeply, breathing in the sweet air of the Human Realm.

"Ah....It's been a while..." he said in a satisfied way, "Now, to find some human to pick up my Note Book..."

He glided over the city, looking at the humans. Something caught his eye.

It was a high school.

Boy did that bring back some memories...

He made a turn and headed for the school. There were lots of teens, boys and girls walking across the grassy lawn, many of

them chosing to walk home. He flew over a tree

"Well, here we go..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout heard a thud as they passed by the school Oak tree. She stoped,

"Hey, did you hear something?"

"I didn't hear anything..." Kathleen said.

Scout looked unsure. She some something laying in the grass nearby. "You go ahead, I'm gonna go check something out..."

Kathleen shrugged,"Okay, I call you later," she said waving.

Scout walked over torwards the thing laying in the grass. It was a black Note Book.

She slowly picked it up, turning it over, since it was upside down. there were two words on the front

"Death Note..." she rolled her eyes. It probably belonged to some goth kid...

She opened up the front cover to learn the owners name. There was no name, but she did find something written inside.

"How to Use it..."she read, "The humans whose name is written in the Note shall die..."


	2. First blood

Ryuk watched the girl read some of the rules. So this was his new Human...unless she threw it away. Then he'd have

to try again. He looked at her face. He name was Scout Hemmings

Scout looked at the book with annoyance, " this is stupid..." she muttered to herself. She contemplated just tossing the thing

back on the ground. And yet...

"Well, I could always bring it back tomarrow and turn it in to the lost and found," she said. Tucking it under her arm. She started

for home again. Ryuk followed, laughing to himself.

"Got her..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout hummed as she walked home, forgetting the Death Note she held in her hands.

"I wonder what mom making for Dinner..." she thought out loud, "I think tonight's meatloaf night...Oh, I hope she doesn't make it

with Eggs in it again..."

She stopped and looked at her watch, "Ah, Crap, it's broken...again..." She growled with aggrivation, "I should've never let

Mike borrow my watch..."

Mike. Her brother. Older than her by three years. He was nice, but absent minded, and had worn her watch swimming again. When

would he comprehend that her watch was not water-proof?! She rolled her eyes.

"Oh well..."

She glanced around, the streets were empty, except for Larry Penderman, the local homeless kid. He was about 23. He use

to go to school with her brother, and she knew him. But her had dropped out just before graduation.

"Hey Scout," he said going over to her, smiling, "How was school today?"

She shrugged, "Boring."

she sniffed discreetly in his direction. He smelled like whiskey.

Scout backed up a bit. He could get a bit aggressive when he was drunk, and when that happened it was never pretty.

"Well, I Better get home. Mom'll blow a gasket if I'm late," She said trying to edge past him.

"Wait, hold up, wanna show you somethin'..." He slurred, pulling her into the ally, "I found it last week..."

He moved aside a cardboard box and revealed a TV.

Scout recognized it as the TV that had been stolen from Edna Goodnict last Friday. She looked at Larry with a raised eyebrow.

"You 'found' this?"

"Yup," he said, drunkenly proud.

Scout looked at the TV again, "Where'd you find it?"

"In a house..." He said stumbling a bit.

Scout bit her bottom lip, " You stole it from Mrs. Goodnict's house?"

Larry turned to her looking annoyed, "No, I FOUND it."

Scout gagged from the scent of alcohol on his breath, "Larry, I-"

"You calling me a liar?" he asked, taking a step closer. Scout shook her head, "No, I just-"

" I HATE it when people call me a liar!" Larry said in a deep angry voice. He reached into his pocket and pulled a knife,

" Take it back!"

Scout saw the blade and let out a small yelp of fear, she backing up.

"Calmdown, Larry, I didn't call you a-"

"Yes, you did!" he spat, "You're just ike all the others! Larry's bum so he must be a liar!"

"I never called you a bum," she said, still backing up. Going deeper and deeper into the ally.

Larry held the knife out accusingly, "You were thinking it! Everyone thinks it!"

Scout tripped over a peice of trash and fell on her butt just as he jabbed it at her. She shreiked, clutching the Death Note in one

hand while scrambling to her feet. Larry grabbed her arm again, shoving her against the chain length fence that sepperated the

allys. Holding out his knife.

"I'll teach you to give me better respect!"

Without relizing what she was doing, Scout opened up the Death Note and grabbed the pencil from her pocket scribbling his name

down, all while staring right at him.

"Larry, please, stop!" she yelled.

She sank to her knees, covering her face. Larry raised his knife again. Suddenly his face contorted. He dropped his knife, clutching

at his chest. He screamed, backing up a few feet. Then he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.

Scout looked in horror at Larry's limp form. She looked down at her hands, The Death Note laid on the ground beside her. She picked

it up and looked at Larry's name.

She looked up into the ever grinning face of Ryuk. She froze.

Ryuk waved his hand casually.

"Hiya."

Scout let out an ear-shattering scream and fainted. Ryuk knelt over her unconcious body, looking a bit confused

"Something I said?"


	3. Meeting

Scout opened her eyes groggily, her head was pounding.

"Scout, you're awake! Geez, I was starting to worry..."

She felt the strong arms of her brother wrapp around her. She pulled away slightly, her head pounding painfully.

"Where Am I?" she asked.

"Hospital," he said,"you hit your head pretty hard. Mr Kindmen heard you screaming and saw Larry attacking you.

He called the police and ran to help, but when he got there, Larry-" he paused.

"What?"she asked.

Mike sighed, "He was dead. He'd died of a heart attack. And you'd passed out."

Scout sat up a little, "Where's mom?"

"At the dentistry. I told her I'd come get you. I don't think she could handle the stress of seeing **you** in a hospital too."

Scout nodded in agreement. It was better this way. Suddenly, she remembered something.

"Hey, did they happen to find a note book nearby?"

"In the ally? No. Why, did you lose one?"

Scout shook her head, "Not exactly...I found it at school and I was gonna turn it in to the lost and found on Monday..."

she rubbed her pounding temple. she had the feeling she was forgetting something important, but she couldn't remember

what.

"I guess it doesn't matter..."

Mike shrugged, "Well, anyway, the police wanna fill out a report of about the incident. Then we can go home."

"Good," Scout said, "My head's killing me...At least I don't have to worry about doing homework since it's the weekend..."

Mike gave a small smile, "TGIF, sis. TGIF..."

* * *

Scout and Mike pulled into the driveway. The house loomed up in front of them. It was two story house. very nice, but simple

it had three bedrooms, a guest room, kitchen and dinning room, a living room, and two bathrooms. one upstairs, one down.

and of course, the garage. It was painted eggshell white with dark blue trim. a respectale house. Not flashy, or special in any

way.

Scout climbed the stairs to her bedroom. She had a desk next to her window, so she could look out occaisionaly. She turned

on her lamp and whent over to her bed, sitting on the edge and falling back. She closed her eyes and enjoying the silence.

"About time you got here."

Scout's eyes popped open, revealing Ryuk literaly hovering over her.

"Gah!" she yelped, scrabbling to her feet.

"Who the hell are you!?" she asked, backing up a few paces. Ryuk floated down so that he was sitting on the edge of her bed.

"I'm Ryuk. Nice to Meet ya."

He looked around at her bedroom, "Heh, nice room," he said,"Kinda girly, though..."

"What ARE you?" Scout asked. Ryuk stood looking at her square in the eyes.

"I'm a Shinigami."

"What's that?" She asked.

"A god of death," Ryuk said simply.

Scout gulped, shaking, "A-are you gonna kill me?"

Ryuk laughed, "No. I'm not gonna kill you. At least not yet. I'm here because you picked up my Death Note."

"You mean that weird note book?"

Ryuk nodded, "I dropped it. You picked it up, so that makes you it's new owner."

As Scout absorbed this, she shook her head, "I dropped it...back in the ally..."

Ryuk walked over to her book shelf, examining the book titles, "I put it in your back-pack after you passed out. So the police

wouldn't find it."

Scout reached for her back pack and opened it up. It was there alright. She opened up, Larry's name stared back at her almost

accusingly.

" 'The human who's name is written in this Note shall die...' " she read as she had before. she looked at Larry's name again

and paled.

"So this is real? I killed Larry?" she asked.

"Yup," Ryuk said,

Scout stood, shaking, "I killed Larry? Oh god I'm a murderer...I killed someone..."

Ryuk looked back over at her, "Hey, he was gonna kill you right? No big deal...You got any apples?"

someone knockwed on her bedroom door. Her heart pounded against her ribcage.

"Oh, no...it's Mike, he'll see you!"

Ryuk gave a small laugh, "Answer it. It'll be just fine."

Scout opened the door. Mike stood there, "You okay? I thought I heard you yell."

Scout glanced in Ryuks direction. How did Mike not see him?

"It's nothing...I tripped, that's all..."

"Oh. Hey, I can help you look for that notebook you were talking about tomarrow if you want."

Scout shook her head, "No, I uh...I found it...I forgot that I put it in my back-pack."

Mike shrugged, "Okay. well, get some sleep, Scout."

Scout nodded, "Yeah, goodnight, Mike..."

She slowly shut the door with a click. Locking it. She turned to Ryuk. "How come-"

"He couldn't see me?" Ryuk asked, "Because the only ones who can see me, or her my voice, is someone who's touched my

Death Note."

"Well, that's a releif..." Scout said. She picked up her, yes HER, Death Note and read through the rules.

"So...everything written here...is real?"

Ryuk nodded. Scout turned to the back cover there were two more rules. She paled.

"I have to kill again every thirteen day's or I'll die?" she asked, barely above a whisper. Ryuk said nothing. He'd forgotten about

those two...the fake rules Light had written.

Oh well...he'd already said all the rules were real.

"And I can't destroy this thing, either..."She continued, reading the second of Light's rules.

"You could always give it away," Ryuk said offhandedly. Scout shoook her head, "No...If I did that, that person might use it for

power or something..." she groaned, "I'm stuck with this thing...I'm gonna go to hell for killing people..."

"Accualy, if you use the Death Note, when you die, you don't go to Heaven or Hell... "

Scout groaned, "Gee, that's SO comforting..."

Ryuk laughed.

"At least you got something to look forward to."


	4. Day one

Scout sat on one side of the bed, near her pillows. Ryuk sat on the other end. Both had their legs crossed indian style.

"So, let me get this strait," Scout said, " You're the only one who can kill me?"

"I'm the only Shinigami who can kill you. You can die without a Shinigami killing you. But, when you die, or if I decide to

kill you, I have to write your name in my Death Note."

Scout nodded, "Oh. Got it..." She yawned, "So basically, I'm stuck with you until I die, or you kill me?"

"Or if you give up ownership of the Death Note," Ryuk added.

Scout's stomach growled, "I think I'll go downstairs and eat something," She muttered to herself, climbing off the bed.

"Don't you think you ought to hide the Death Note? In case someone finds it?" Ryuk asked.

"Uh...right..." Scout said, kicking herself for not thinking about that. She picked up the Death Note and reached into her

dresser drawer. She puled out a lavender book cover with white daisies on it. She slipped the cover on and shoved the

Death Note inside her Pillow case.

"There. Now if anyone finds it, they'll think it's a diary."

"Light did something like that once," Ryuk commented as he followed Scout downstairs. Scout whent into the kitchen and

opened up the fridge. She pulled out a bag of Apples. Ryuks eyes widened.

"APPLES!"

Quicker than Scout could react, Ryuk grabbed an apple from the bag and tossed the whole thing in his mouth chewing

enthusiastically.

Scout stared at him, "You're not suppose to eat the seeds, they've got cyanide in them.

Ryuk grabbed another apple, "So? I can't die."

Scout just ssat own at the table and began slowly eating her her apple. Ryu reached for another one, taking bites and

savoring the flavor.

"Ah...Human Realm Apples taste so much better than in the Shinigami realm. more...Juicy."

What's Shinigami Realm apple taste like?" She asked, curious.

Ryuk pulled one out of his pocket and held it out, "Taste it."

Scout looked hestiantly at the fruit. It was whithered-looking and green. Like a bell pepper.

"I think I'll pass..."

"Come on, it's not gonna kill you," Ryuk urged, giving one of his creepy grins. Scout took the fruit from Ryuk and took a

bite. At first she didn't notice anything, but the the taste hit her like a freight train

"Blech! it's horrid!" she gagged, spitting out the chewed piece of apple. Ryuk cackled as she quickly took thee bites from

her regular apple to get the taste out. She glared at him, "You knew I'd react like that, didn't you?" she asked accusingly.

Ryuk just grabbed another apple and began eating it.

* * *

Scout woke up the next morning at about 8:00. she moaned and rolled over onto her side, opening her eyes.

"Morning"

"Gah!" she yelped, before realizing it was Ryuk. She remembered the events from yesterday and groaned loudly.

"Why god, why?" she asked herself.

Ryuk gave a smirk, "Because I felt like it."

Scout saw his teeth and grimaced, "Ugh...just look at those teeth..."

"What's wrong with my teeth?"

"Never mind," Scout said sitting up. She headed towards the bathroom. Ryuk followed her. Scout gave him a look.

"A-hem..."

"What?"

Scout crossed her arms.

"Oh, uh, right..." Ryuk said, "girls don't like being watched in the bathroom, do they?"

He stepped back and allowed Scout to shut the door to the bathroom. Mike emerged from his room, wearing a pair of

baggy pajama bottoms and a sleeveless shirt. He walked right through Ryuk and knocked on the bathroom door

"Scout, you in there?"

"Yeah, hold on a second, lemme get in the shower...."

After a minute, Mike entered the bathroom, as it appeared Scout had gotten into the shower. He came out a few moments

later, flushing the toilet and washing his hands, once again walking through Ryuk.

Ryuk followed him downstairs. the Apple bag was still on the table. there was one apple left. Mike picked it up and set it on

the counter. He reached into the fridge to get something. Ryuk snatched the apple off the counter and headed back upstairs.

Mike turned back to get the apple.

"Hey...where'd it go?"

000000ooooo000000

Scout wrapped her hair into a towel and put on her bathrobe. She headed back towards her bedroom. Ryuk was sitting on

her bed, eating an apple and looking through her book collection

"You've got a lot of books about teeth...you got a fetish or something?"

Scout whent over and took the books from Ryuk

"I happen to be studying to be a dentist," she said, putting them back on the shelf.

"A dentist? but thats so boring..."

"Says you," Scout said, "It pays a lot."

"How much?"

"My mom makes about 18.50 an hour."

"Ooh, how much is that in apples?"

Scout did some mental calculation.

"About 2000."

Ryuk made a noise in his throat.

"I fully support the dentistry profession" he declared, taking a huge bite out of his apple.


	5. Day one part 2

Scout whent down to the kitchen, pouring herself a bowl of cereal. Ryuk say across from her at the table, watching

her eat.

"So, when are you gonna kill someone?" he asked, leaning forwards a bit

"Not for another 12 days if I can help it. I only have to kill at least one person every thirteen days according to

the thirteen day rule..."

"That's boring..." Ryuk said, flicking his earring absentmindedly.

"Hey!" she said, her eyes lighting up, "What about animals? I could-"

"Won't work," Ryuk said interupting.

Scouts face fell "Why not?" She asked, spooning more cereal into her mouth.

"Animals don;t have first and last names. It wouldn't work even if they did. Sort of an unwritten rule about how the

Death Note. It only works on humans."

"Damn..." Scout said.

Ryuk just sat there as she ate, "Well, if you're not gonna kill anyone, what ARE your plans for the day?"

"Well, I was planning on going to the movies, Go play football **_(aka:Soccer)_** with my freinds...and visiting my dad at

the hospital."

"Why's your father at the hospital?"

Scout swallowed a mouthful of her cereal, "He has AIDs. Bad incident with a patient of his...Dad's a dentist too."

"Oh..." Ryuk said.

Scout nodded, "Yeah. He was...okay until last week. Now he's in for some Chemo. Mom's been under a lot of stress

lately, and-"

"Sweetie, who are you talking too?"

Scout turned around. It was her mom. Tracey

"Oh, uh, noone, "just talking to myself," she said drinking the milk from her bowl.

Tracey nodded, yawning. she was wearing a lacey mint-green nightgown that whent down to her lower thighs.

Her hair, Like scouts, was red, but hers was greying slightly. Nevertheless, she was still considered very attractive.

"Well, as long as you don't start ANSWERING yourself, I think your sanity is in place," she said, giving a small smile.

Trying not to be emotional over what had happened yesterday.

000000ooooo000000

After breakfast, Scout washed the dishes and headed out the door, grabbing her purse.

"I'll be back later mom," She said.

"Okay," Tracey said. She was getting ready for work anyway.

Scout walked down the sidewalk. Tree's ont side of the street made lots of dappled shadows on the street.

"So, you got any freinds?" Ryuk asked.

"Yeah, some...Matthew, James, Kori, and the girl I was with Yes-"

"Hey Scout!"

000000ooooo000000

Scout and Ryuk turned around. It was Kathleen. She ran right through Ryuk and stoped next to her,

"I heard what happened yesterday, are you okay?" she asked, her voice full of concern.

Scout nodded, "Uh, yeah, I'm fine..."

"That's good... " Kathleen said sighing with relief, "I was worried..."

Scout smiled. Kathleen was always looking out for her. They'd been best freinds since grade school. Ryuk hovered over

her shoulder

"Ah, so this is that freind you were with yesterday when you picked up my Note book..."

Scout half expected Kathleen to turn around and scream in terror, but she knew unless she touched the Death Note, she

was blind and deaf to Ryuk.

"So where you headed?" Kathleen asked, walking alongside Scout.

"Uh..."

"Nowhere? good. remember yesterday when I saved you from Horny Harley? Well, I've come to collect on your debt. I

need you to help me get my groceries. You know how useless my dad is..."

Scout sighed, "Yeah, I know..."

Kathleen's mom had left when she was a baby, so her dad had raised her alone. He was a great guy, but bad at keeping

a schedule. Kathleen took on a lot of household duties. Shopping was one of them.

"Shopping eh? So much for your plans, huh, Scout?" Ryuk said, laughing.

"Shut up!" Scout whispered angrily.

Kathleen turned around, "Huh? What'd you say?"

Scout shook her head, "Nothing, "I was just talking to an annoying pest next to my head..."


	6. Day one part 3

After helping Kathleen with her grocery shopping (during which she had to keep Ryuk from stealing apples

about three different times) Scout continued with what she originally had planned. She made her way

towards the movie theatre.

"Scout, I want an apple," Ryuk said as they floated down the aisle once she had paid for her ticket. Scout

gave him an exasperated look, "Well, you can't have one. we're in the middle of a theatre, I don't have any."

"That's not true, you bought some earlier, you put them in your bag."

"Yeah, well, you're still not eating one in public. your invisible right? It'd look like a floating apple until you ate

it, and that wouldn't be good."

Ryuk was surprised she'd figured that part out by herself. she was nowhere near as smart as Light had been.

she was considered average, or at the very most, only slightly above it. Once the lights dimmed and everyone

was in their seats, Ryuk sat down in a seat next to Scout.

"Can I have an apple now? we're on the front row, so no one can see me. plus it's dark."

Scout relented, "Fine..." she said reaching into her bag and giving him and apple.

Ryuk took it and scarfed it down.

"Mmm....Juicy..."

* * *

Kasde watched Ryuk and his new human, Scout Hemmings, from his viewing hole two other Shinigami were sitting

with him, watching.

"Heh heh, looks like Ryuks new human is a girl..." one of them said.

"I wonder if he's gonna fall for her."

"Nah," Kasde said, "Ryuk wouldn't be that stupid. However this is pretty fun. You know those two fake rules in the

Death Note that Ryuk wrote back when that Light guy was alive?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, " Kasde said, smirking, "She thinks they're real!"

Kasde and Neord, one of the other two Shinigami, laughed. The other, who was more humanoid looking, did not.

"Ryuk gets all the fun..." he said, crossing his arms, "Why does he get to go to the Human Realm?"

"I made a bet with him," Kasde said, "If this kid turns out like Light, I get to take his place and his extra Death Note."

his name was was Rekab. His skin was light purple and had darker purple tatoo-like deisgns over it. His eyes were

silver with Black slit-pupils in the center of his Irises. His body shaped somewhat like Ryuk's, only his was more filled

out, less scrawny and gangly. He stood, summoning his large, dragonfly-like wings and buzzed off.

Kasde and Neord exchanged looks

"Where do you think he's going?"

Kasde shrugged.

* * *

Scout emerged from the theatre, blinking from the bright light. She glanced at her watch. It was about 2:00.

"I think I'll go down to the park and grab a hot-dog before going and visiting my dad..." she said.

"Why don't you go to the hospital first?" Ryuk asked.

"Because visiting hours don't start until about three for someone in dad's condition," Scout said matter of factly.

"Oh."

Scout stopped at a road crossing. It wasn't time to cross yet. hip-hop music poured from a speaker that played

to pass the time until it changed. Scout knew this song and subconsciously tapped her foot in rhythm with the beat.

Ryuk however began doing what could be considered grotesque type of break dance. On an impulse, he reached

over and grabbed Scouts wrists and pulled her into his dance. Scout tried to jerk her hands away

"Hey, Ryuk, let go! I don't wanna dance!"

Ryuk just continued to throw his body around, making Scoout spin and weave with him.

000000ooooo000000

A woman walking with her son across the street stopped and stared at the girl who seemed to be dancing in a very

odd manner, yelling at someone who was obviously not present.

"Wow mommy, look a the girl dance!" the boy said, pointing and giggling. His mother shoo'd him forward, "Come on

Billy, don't stare at the crazy person..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout finaly jerked herself away from Ryuk's grip, glaring, "Don't EVER do that again! Just for that, you're not getting

any apples for the rest of the day!

Ryuks face fell, "Aw, come on...don't be cruel..."

Scout just continued to glare until they'd crossed he street, and continued to ignore him all the way to the park.

* * *

_**So who's this new Shinigami? whats he up to? stay tuned for the next chapter and find out!!!**_

**_mwa hahahaha!_**


	7. New Player?

As Scout sat up, rubbing her eyes, she relized with a groan that it was Monday. She had to go to school, which

meant that Ryuk would be tagging along.

"Why so gloomy?" Ryuk asked Hovering above her bed, looking down at her. Scout made a face.

"Ugh...those teeth..."

"What's wrong with my teeth?" Ryuk asked. Scout shook her head, "nevermind..." Are you gonna follow me to

school?"

"I have to stick close to the Death Note's owner."

"So yes?"

"Yeah."

Scout moaned and rolled over and burried her face in her pillows.

"Great..."

* * *

Scout and Kathleen walked side by side on the way to school, Ryuk folowing behind. It was really hard not being

able to tell Kathleen about Ryuk. Especially since he was always hanging over her shoulder like a stubborn strand

of hair.

"So Scout, how's your dad doing?"

"He's okay...gonna have to stay in the hospital for a while longer though..."

Kathleen nodded. "I wonder what we made on that Algebra test..." Scout said to half to herself.

"Well, I know how I did," Kathleen said smirking, "YOU didn't study. As usual..."

"No studying?" Ryuk asked, "heh, how irresponsible..."

Scout fought the urge to turn around and club him.

"I looked at your paper on the way to the front of the class, chill out, you did good," Kathleen said with a reassuring

smile. Scout inhaled deeply and let it out in a small whoosh.

"Good, My mom'll kill me if I get another 'c' in math..." Scout said, "And by the way I DO study...It's just so boring..."

000000ooooo000000

She sat near the back of the class, as usual, trying to focus on what the teacher was saying.

"And can anyone tell me WHY Beowulf faught the alone?" he asked, "Besides his pride?"

several hands whent up.

Scout scribbled down a few notes.

"Hey Scout, this class is boring..."

"No it's not," Scout said.

"Can I have an Apple?"

"No!" she whispered angrily, "we're in the middle of class and I-"

"Scout?" the teacher said sharply

Scout whipped around, "Yes sir?"

"Do you have something you want to share with the class?"

Scout gulped, "No sir. There's just an annoying thing buzzing around my ear.." she said glaring in Ryuks direction.

"Well, try to deal with it QUIETLY if you please."

"Yes Mr Guzenheit..." Scout said.

Mr Guzenheit turned back to the chalk board. Scout sighed as Ryuk began to laugh, " Who sneezed?"

Scout glowered, "it's his name, stupid."

Ryuk continued to laugh, "Oh no it's not...His real name is Charles Hunter."

"How can you tell?" Scout asked.

"I'll explain later," Ryuk said walking around the classroom, looking for something to ammuse himself with.

Scout sighed and whent back to her notes.

* * *

Rekab set looked out of one of the viewing portals to the human realm. He was watching the humans go about their

daily lives. His attention was caught by a human boy who seemed to be fighting with a much larger, older man

"Get out of my house you ungratefull punk!" the man shouted, throwing a punch in the boys boy collapsed to

the ground. He wiped blood from the corner of his mouth, glaring up at the man. He pulled himself to his feet and

shouldered a grey and red backpack which seemed nearly to burst. He had a metal cage in his left hand, which swung

slightly as he limped away Rekab looked at his name.

"Johnathon Morgue..." Rekab said, chuckling a bit to himself.

He looked around to see if anyone else was loking and pulled out his Death Note. He looked at it thoughtfully.

* * *

Johnathon, known as Johnny for short, walked down the largly deserted back streets of San Francisco. He paused, looking

at his battered reflection in an antique store window.

"Damn. I'm gonna feel that tomarrow..."

His hair was dark brown, almost black, which was sort of spikey. He was wearing a dark red sleavless shirt and worn jeans

and heavy-duty brown and tan sneakers. A split lip, a two black eyes, and various other bruises now decorated his

normaly good-looking face.

he set down the cage, which Contained his pet Rat, Charlie, a black and White rat with only three legs he'd rescued from

one of his stepfathers rat traps 2 years ago. The little rodent squeeked.

Johnny reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of half-crumpled crackers

"Here," he said pouring them into the small food dish in the cage, "Guess it's just you and me, huh little buddy?"

Suddenly something black landed at his feet. it looked like a notebook.

"What the hell...?"


	8. Discoveries

Ryuk watched Scout as she ate with Kathleen. She almost seemed to forget that her was there, well, until

Kathleen's apple from her lunch mysteriously disapeared.

"Heh...It was probably one of the jocks..." Kathleen dismissed.

Scout stayed silent, but glared Daggers at Ryuk. Ryuk pretended to be scared and backed away, his hands

covering his face.

"Oh no, it's a terrifying little girl with red hair!"he said, cackling. Scout pretended to yawn, and raised her arms

above her head, punching Ryuk in the gut.

"Aw, come on, you know you can't hurt me, I'm a Shinigami," Ryuk said, as if he were ammused. Scout

looked at him from the corner of her eye

"Makes me feel better."

000000ooooo000000

After school Scout walked home with Kathleen, talking about which classes were difficult, and which ones were

easy, and who was a bitch or a stupid Jock. Ryuk paid very close attention. He loved gossip. Plus he could always

use it to his adventage later.

Kathleen turned to Scout, "Anyway, tonight's game night at my place, you wanna come?"

"And lose to your dad in monopoly like last time? No thanks," Scout said, smiling in a freindly way.

"Aw come on, you know you wanna..." she said enticingly.

"Nope, I shall leave the board games to YOU, Kath," Scout said as her house came into sight. She hugged Kathleen

and then scurried inside. No one was home, so she had the house to herself. Well...except for Ryuk.

Ryuk grabbed an apple out of the fridge and crunched on it, enjoying it's cold tangy flavor.

"Mmm...Juicy..."

Scout turned to him, her earlier anger forgotten, "So, Ryuk, you said earlier you'd explain how you knew Mr

Guzenheit's name was fake."

"Oh, yeah," He said taking another bite from his apple, "Well, before I do that, I have to ask you this: What is the

difference between a Human and a Shinigami?"

Scout shrugged.

"Well, there's_ two_ things," he said, "the first is that when a Shinigami kills someone, that human's remaining lifespan

goes to the Shinigami. For example, If you met a human who was destined to live to a ripe old age of 96, but I wrote

they would die at 50, I'd get those lost 46 years. We always know how many years we're going to get, because we

never have to worry about finding out a persons name."

"How come?" Scout asked, morbidly intrigued by this little lesson.

"Because of our eyes. Shinigami eyes can see the name and lifespan of every human on Earth above their head. that

brings me to the second reason we're different...When a Shinigami writes down a humans name, their lifespan gets

added to their own...But this is not so for a human who weilds the Death Note. Their life span doesn't increase at

all. And that is the difference between us."

Scout gave a small nodd.

"I see..."

"But, one of those differences can be changed," Ryuk said finishing off his apple.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, The Shinigami the Death Note belongs to has the right to make a deal with their Human for Shinigami eyes..."

"A deal?"

"Yeah. With Shinigami eyes, using the Death Note only gets easier...you'd be able to see everyones name, and you

could tell who else is a Death Note user because their lifespan would be hidden."

"And what's the price for this deal?" Scout asked.

"Oh nothing...just half of your remaining lifespan."

"What?!" Scout said, "Why on Earth would I give away half my lifespan for pair of eyes?!"

Ryuk just leaned back in his chair, "I'm just letting you know...it's an option if you ever need them."

Scout sighed, "I suppose I should consider that something nice, so Thank's but No thanks. I'm happy with my normal,

Human eyes." Scout said, pulling out her homework.

"If you change your mind, the deal's still up for grabs," he said grabbing another apple.

"I'll make a note of that..."

* * *

"So you see, Old Man," Rekab said in a respectful voice, " Since I dropped the Death Note before I was able to

write his name down, He probably has it. Which mean's I'll have to go to the Human realm...I need a new Note Book

until the Human who holds it dies or gives it up."

He stared up into the face of the Shinigami King, Awaiting his answer.

A deep, but strangely gentle voice replied, "I do not like giving out extra Death Note's Rekab..."

"I know," he said, "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important..."

The Shinigami King was silent for a whole five minutes before responding

"You may have another Death Note...I do not like it, but this IS an important matter..."

A Death Note floated down from above and landed gracefully in Rekab's hands. He beamed up gratefully at the

Lord of Death.

"Thank you, Old Man," he said kneeling, "I swear I shall not disapoint you!"

"Just don't lose this one..." the voice said, a trace of humor peppering it as the Young Shinigami walked away.

* * *

Johnny read each and everyone of the instructions in the Death Note carefully, studying them. There were none on

the back cover.

" 'The Human who's name is written in this Death Note shall die...' " he quoted.

He looked at the note book he held, as if cnsidering something. He glanced at his rat.

"Well...I can think of one bastard who we can test this thing on..."

He looked around for something to write with, but found nothing. He suddely remembered his still-bleeding lip.

He raised his finger to his lip and delicatly dabbed at the wound, coating his fingertip in blood. He opened the Death Note

and lowered his finger to the page, focusing on the image of his Step father.

" 'Ray Matherson...' " he wrote dabbing at his cut again, "suicide. Jumps off of his apartment building in exactly 15 minutes.

Appears as accidental death caused by his frequent alcohol abuse. ' "

His lip throbbing, Johnny once again shouldered his back pack and picked up his rats cage, headed for the apartment he

had just left, to see just how real this 'Death Note' was...


	9. Decisions, Decisions

Scout drummed her fingers nervously. She had only 2 day's left to pick someone to kill before she herself was killed

by the Death Note...(or so she believed).

She stared at the television screen, not really paying attention to what was on the screen. Ryuk, her constant

stalker, sat beside her.

"Why don't you turn it to the news? Maybe there's some criminals you could kill."

Scout groaned, "If I did that, I wouldn't be any better than that Kira person a few years ago..."

However, she did flip it to the news station. It was better than watching old reruns of The Simpsons.

"...Resulting in mild rainstorms for the next few day, so if you go outside, use your umbrella. In other news, a Bus

driver in Montreal was brutally murdered today along with 7 other people. One survivor described the assailant

to police who were able to form this sketch..."

An image appeared of a man that appeared to be in his mid-thirties. His hair was messy, and had a receding hairline.

he had small, shifty-looking eyes with dark circles around them. He also had a heart tattoo just under his left eye.

He looked like a drug addict.

"Police have yet to locate the individual. Witness say he was about 5 foot 9, green eyes, brown eyes and pale skin.

a wallet found at the scene of the crime suggest's his name might be 'Mike Miles.' If you have any idea as to the

whereabouts of this man, please contact your local police station...."

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk scratched his chin, "Hmm...you could do him..." Ryuk said.

"But he-"

"Killed 8 people," Ryuk said cutting her off.

"Well...."

"Come on, don't be boring..." Ryuk said leaning against the back of the couch.

Scout glared and Punched him in the chest

"This isn't about **boring**Ryuk!"

Ryuk just laughed, picking up Scout's Death Note, which was protruding from her back pack on the floor and put

it on her lap.

"You gonna do it or not?"

Scout glowered at him, but picked up the Death Note, along with the pen she had tucked behind her ear. She opened

it up sighing.

"Mike Miles...Accidental death...after seeing himself shown on the news as a mass murderer, he decides to turn himself

in. On the way to the police station, he is struck by a fallen object by a nearby consrtuction site. He dies instantly..."

Ryuk grinned.

"This is gonna be good..."

* * *

Johnny looked around at the nice, clean apartment building. Ray's life insurance had not only covered the cost of his

funeral and cremation, it had also been enough to put down the first payment on a new apartment. One in a more

upstanding part of San Francisco. He was sitting in his new room. Charlie, in his cage, was knawing on a peice of cutle

bone, his cedar chips rustling beneath him.

Ray's life insurance hadn't been the only thing that had happened from the result of his death. The Company who was

responsible for making the liquor which had caused his "Accident" had signed over a large settlement of money to

avoid a possible lawsuit. Over 100,000 dollars.

The door to his room squeaked open, both of them turned to look.

Johnny's five year-old half-sister, Tanya, the reason their mother Johanna had married Ray int he first place, stood

there, wearing a little blue mini-dress with blue jeans.

"Mom says dinner's ready..." she said.

Johnny adored his sister. She, like him, took after their mother. The only trait she had from Ray were her green eyes,

and even they were different. Softer. Not hardened by years of alcohol abuse or darkened with hatred at being

'saddled' with some woman he'd knocked up.

Ray had always considered Tanya to be a burden. And he had made sure she knew it. He had never wanted much to

do with her, but when he did, it was usually a bad thing.

"What's she making?"

"Mac 'n' Cheese with hamburgers."

"Cool," he said walking over to her and playing with her Nearly-black curls, "I'll be there in a minute, 'kay?"

Tanya nodded and exited the room.

"You really love your sister, don't you?"

000000ooooo000000

Johnny whipped around, his eyes bugging out slightly at the strange being standing in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?"

Rekab, who had watched the whole scene, looked him strait in the eyes.

"Rekab."

Suddenly Johnny seemed to Relax

"Oh, I get it...you're one of those Shinigami death gods mentioned in this right?"

He held up the Death Note.

Rekab nodded.

"I thought so..." Johnny said putting the Death Note in a drawer by his bed. He turned back to Rekab, his blue eyes

meeting Rekab's silver ones.

"We have a lot to discuss..."


	10. Making a killing

Ryuk gave a grin as the news reported the death of Mike Miles. Scout tried not to look guilty as the reporter

came on.

"In a shocking Twist, Mike Miles, responsible for the homicides in Montreal bus jacking yesterday, went to the

police to turn himself in, when a steel beam from a nearby construction site broke loose an struck him, crushing

his skull and Ribcage and killing him instantly. Police at the sce-"

Scout turned off the TV, sighing.

"What's the matter?" Ryuk asked holding out his hand, "Feeling a little guilty?"

"I'm feeling a LOT guilty, Ryuk..." she said, sighing. She handed him an apple from the fruit bowl her mother kept

next to the couch on a side table. Ryuk Crunched into it, savoring the flavor.

"You worry too much."

Scout just sighed and stood, "I think I'll go ride my bike..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout peddled down the street, letting the sun shine down warmly into her face. Ryuk followed behind her, flying.

She seemed to relax, inhaling deeply. She turned off the road onto an old trail and rode deep into the woods.

"Where're you going Scout?" Ryuk asked curiously, flying up beside her.

"you'll see," she said peddling faster.

It was an old mountain trail, few people used it anymore because it peices of it ran against the edge of the local

cliff. It was where teens whent to make out, but unless you were careful, you could end up falling...

Kathleen's old boyfreind Jorge had fallen off and had broken both of his legs.

He had been lucky.

000000ooooo000000

Scout jumped over a small depression in the rode, her bike's shocks absorbing the small jar from landing. She

giggled at the sudden elation she felt. Ryuk titled his head a bit. Suddenly a snake, a copper head darted out from

the brush. Yelping from suprise and fear, She made a hard left, and lost control of the bike, heading strait towards

the cliff. Scout let out shriek as she mashed the brake for all she was worth, but the Bike had gained to much

momentum. She was flung off of it and over the edge, the hard ground 30 feet down.

Scout screamed, closing her eyes. Suddenly she felt something grab her arm. Her eyes snapped open.

"Ryuk?!"

Sure enough, Ryuk, flapping his wings in a rather calm manner, had grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her plummet

of doom.

"You know, you really ought to be more careful."

Ryuk reached down with his free hand and pulled Scout up, placing her awkwardly on his back.

Scout held onto his shoulder, trying very hard not to look down.

"I thought Shinigami wern't allowed to save someone's life," she said, remembering Ryuk mentioning it once.

"I didn't, It's not your time yet. besides, if I let you fall, I'd have to go back to the Shinigami world, and that place

is a real yawn..."

Scout just continued hanging onto Ryuk for all the was worth, which wasn't easy, because of his wings. Ryuk flew

right over the tree's and back towards town.

"Wait!" Scout said, " people will see me!"

"No they won't. Unless your touching the ground, while I'm carrying you, your technically part of the Shinigami

realm...They can't see you anymore than they can see me."

Scout would have relaxed...if she wasn't about 200 feet in the air...

Ryuk spotted Scout's house and touched down in the back yard. He retracted his wings, knocking Scout off.

"Ouch..." she said rubbing her rear end, "That'll leave a mark..."

"Not as bad as the cliff would have."

* * *

Johnny Walked down the street. The Death Note tight in his grip

"Why are we HERE?" Rekab asked.

"This is where Ray use to hang out with his 'friends'." Johnny said, narrowing his eyes as they approached a run-

down looking bar. Johnny whent inside and took a seat by the window. No one seemed to notice he was beneath

the legal limit, in fact somekids younger than he was were inside. Drinking, Smoking...and not just cigarettes.

"These people are scum..." Johnny said. And they're a bad influence. All they do is make people suffer...I should

know, he;s had most of these people at our old apartment more than once."

He pulled out his Death Note and a pencil.

"You're gonna kill all of them?" Rekab asked.

"Just the ones that deserve it..." Johnny muttered.

_"And I'll be damned if I let anyone else suffer at the hands of a drunk..."_

He focused on the nearest man and began to write.

"Billy Matherson..."


	11. Mistake

Johanna wiped her brow of the sweat beginning there, a small smile on her face. She was cooking her favorite

meal:

lasagna.

She looked over at her five year old. She was a blessing, despite who her father was...or rather, who **had** been

her father. When Ray died, she had felt only a weight had been lifted from her, and had been relieved. Ray had

been cruel, uncaring, selfish, and violent.

That Tanya had been sired from such a man was, at best, unbelievable.

Johanna turned on the radio, turning it to the news station, she wanted to hear the weather forecast.

"...Sunday will be partly cloudy, with temperatures in the low 70's. We're in for some rain, my friends, a high pressure

front has come in, prompting a string of thunderstorms. Thunder and lightning can be expected, with wind speeds

up to 74 mph.-"

"Oh, dear... I hope it doesn't flood anything..." Johanna mumbled to herself.

"-so be sure to stay inside and stay off the road...Just this in, ten men have been killed in a deadly fire at a downtown

bar less than 14 hours ago. Three survivors, who's names and ages will be kept anonymous, report that Billy Matherson,

the bartender, suddenly suffered what appeard to be a heart attack, and Fell into a nearby patron who was lighting a

cigarette, starting the fire.

the afore mentioned patron then, in a panic, yelled for assistance as the fire quickly spread. The three survivors say they

ran for the exit, escaping just as the roof, which was in fairly poor condition, collapsed. The men left inside were tragically

burned to death."

Johanna covered her mouth, "oh, how awful..."

000000oooo0000000

Johnny walked in the door, "Mom, Tanya, I'm home."

Tanya, still coloring saw her big brother and beamed, " Hi, Johnny!"

She stood and scurried over to her brother, Johnny crouched down and hugged her as she spread her arms out to him. He

went into the kitchen, sitting at the table.

"Hey, mom."

"Hey, Johnny. Did you hear about the fire at that bar?"

"Yeah, I saw it on a TV while I was out," he said, "You're not gonna believe it, but it was that bar Ray use to go to."

Johanna's eyes widened, "Really?"

Johnny nodded, "what's cooking?"

"Lasagna," she said pulling it out of the oven.

Johnny sniffed the air, "smells delicious, mom..." He said, "...you need any help setting the table?"

Johanna gave a small smile, "Thank you Johnny...that's nice of you."

Johnny hadn't seen his mother smile in a long time.

It was nice.

"Tanya, can you put my bag in my room?" Johnny asked handing her the black bag he'd carried with him on his 'mission'.

"Sure," Tanya said as Johnny grabbed some plates and silverware.

000000ooooo000000

Tanya picked up the bag, it wasn't very heavy, and walked out of the kitchen. She crossed the living room and headed

towards Johnny's room. It was the first door on the left, and was easily recognizable. He brother had a Rob Zombie

poster tacked to the front.

Humming, she opened the door and placed the bag on the edge of the bed. Charlie squeeked, having been woken up

in his cage.

"Hi, Charlie," Tanya said. Her hand hit the side of the bag, sending the things inside tumbling to the floor.

"Oops..." she said.

She quickly dropped to her knees, gathering up her brother's belongings. She placed them back in the bag as neatly as

possible. The last thing she picked up was a black notebook, she squinted, looking at the silvery letters written on the

front. She wasn't very good at reading yet, but she clearly read the words

"Death Note..."she said aloud to herself, "I wonder what this-"

she heard a noise to her left, she looked up.

Rekab stood by Johnny's desk, looking down at Tanya. She looked in his direction and gasped, dropping the Death Note.

"M-m-monster..."

* * *

Scout placed the spit sucker in the corner of the mans mouth. She was helping her mother finish up her last few patients.

She'd been interning at her parents practice for the past few months . Ryuk, with a look of extreme boredom on his

face, floated behind Scout.

"Scout..."

Scout ignored him.

"Scout...."

Still nothing.

"_Scout...."_

No response

"**SCOUT....!"**Ryuk moaned loudly. Scout turn around, annoyed, "What is it Ryuk?!" she whispered out of the corner of

her mouth.

"I'm bored..."

"That's not my problem..." she muttered again organizing her mothers instruments, "I'm busy right now."

"You're not even getting paid to do this..."

"It's an internship, of course I don't get paid," she said, "Besides, mom needs help."

Ryuk grumbled.

"I want an apple..."


	12. Impressions

Scout rode home in the front seat next to her mom. Her stomach let out a hungry growl. It was dinner time. Tonight

was fend-for-yourself night. Something they did once a week when no one really wanted either to make or eat an

accual dinner.

"Sweetie, I'm sorry I needed you so much today..."Tracey yawned.

Scout shook her head, "No, I was happy to help."

"You're still a kid though, you should be out watching movies with your friends or something..."

"And miss out on the chance to see you make Mr Vadowski the body builder whimper like a baby?"

Tracey laughed a bit, brushing a hair from her daughters face, "You're sure you don't mind?"

"Mom, I LIKE dentistry. This good for my resume and college aplication," Scout said.

Tracey nodded, "As long as you're happy, sweetheart."

000000ooooo000000 

Ryuk, who had been sitting in the back seat of the car, phased himself out as Scout climbed out. He craked his neck.

"Tight fit..."

"only if you're 9 feet tall," Scout said out of the corner of her mouth as she entered the house behind her mom.

"Can I have an apple now?" he asked.

Scout sighed and whent towards the fridge. She grabbed two apples and headed upstairs to her room. Once she was

inside she tossed Ryuk the apple over her shoulder and reached for her world History book.

"Studying?" Ryuk asked, swallowing a mouthful of apple.

"I have a test tomarrow."

"But you studied earlier..." Ryuk commented, taking another large bite from the red fruit he so cherrished.

"I wanna stay on top of things," Scout said tossing him the other apple as he finished the one he was currently eating.

"Scout."

"What?"

"As a shinigami, I'm not on you side. I'm neutral in anything you do."

"So what?" Scout asked with an edge.

"Well, as your room mate, I have a suggestion," he said walking up the wall and standing upside down right in her line

of sight so she had no choice but look up into his upside down face.

"And that would be?"

"Loosen up."

Scout closed her book, grimancing at Ryuk's face. She walked away, shaking her head.

"Those teeth..."

Ryuk touched his mouth "What's wrong with my teeth?"

* * *

"Oh, crap..." Rekab muttered to himself as the fact that Tanya could now see him became plain.

"Monster..."

She backed up, knocking over a stack of CD's and causing a loud crashing clatter as they hit the floor. Johnny burst in

"What ha-"

Tanya whimpered, hiding behind Johnny, pointing towards Rekab

"It's a monster!" she said.

Johnny looked from Rekab to Tanya and back to Rekab

"She can see you?I thought I was the only one who could see or hear you."

"She must have touched the Death Note..." Rekab said.

Johnny turned to Tanya and crouched down, "Tanya, this is Rekab...He's not a monster, he's a Shinigami."

"Shishimami?"

"Shinigami. He won't hurt you, I promise," Johnny said.

Tanya looked over her brother's shoulder at the shinigami, hesitantly

"Are you sure?"

"He won't hurt you," he said again, turning to Rekab, "Right?"

"Right," Rekab said, nodding. Nothing good would happen if this child got upset and started screaming.

Johnny stood. Tanya slowly came out from behind his legs, approaching Rekab warily. Rekab didn't quite know what to do.

He crouched down, as Johnny had done, but even then he was still taller than her.

"I'm Rekab," he said.

"I'm Tanya..."

Rekab already knew this, but nodded anyway.

"Why do you have horns?" Tanya asked, curiously reaching up and touching one of his blueish ram-like protrusions.

"Why do you have hair?" he asked.

Tanya thought about this for a minute, seeing his logic.

"Do you like apple juice?"

Rekab suddenly gave a small shiver

"I love apples."

Tanya gave a small nodd of approval. It seemed to her that as sweet and tastey as apples were, anyone who loved

apples simply COULDN'T be evil.

Johnny let out a sigh of relief

"That was a close one..."


	13. Late Night Invaders

Ryuk lay against the wall, taking a nap. True, Shinigami didn't NEED to sleep, but since Scout was asleep, it wasn't like

he could do much else anyway. He woke up when he heard a door shut, loudly.

"What was that?" he asked himself out loud. He looked over at the bed where Scout lay, sleeping peacefully.

"Well, she's not going anywhere..." Ryuk said, "Might as well see what that noise was..."

He phased through the floor, sinking down into the living room.

000000ooooo000000

Two men dressed in black were busily ransacking anything and everything that might have been valuable. Robbers.

"Oh...Scout's not gonna like this..." Ryuk said pulling himself back into Scout's room He whent over to her bed and shook

her shoulder

"Scout...Hey Scout, wake up."

"Five more minutes..." she said rolling over onto her stomach.

"You're getting robbed."

Scout's eyes snapped open

"What?"

"There's two men downstairs stealing all your stuff."

Scout kicked the covers off of herself and silently crept out of her room and over to the stairs. She saw movement from downstairs

and gulped.

"Oh, god..."

"yes?" Ryuk asked.

Scout turned and gave him a look

"Sorry, thought you meant me."

Scout punched his shoulder, "This is serious Ryuk! What do we do? Mike's not here and Mom..."

"Yeah, I know, your mothers exhausted," Ryuk said, "But this really isn't a big problem. Just write their names in your Death Note."

"How am I suppose to write peoples names if I don't know who they are or what their faces look like?" Scout asked, temporarily

forgetting that she did not LIKE killing people.

"Well...you could always do the Eye trade... It's just like putting on a contact lense. It doesn't even hurt."

"Tempting, but I'll pass."

"Well, you could always call the police."

"The phone is_ downstairs_ " Scout said."

"Oh. Then I guess you're screwed, huh?"

Scout gave him a look.

"Ryuk, you're such a-"

"Jim! will you hurry up!"

Scout paused. She recognized that voice.

"That's..."

"Harley, chill, everyone's alseep..." came the other voice.

"Horney Harley and Jim Di'Angelo? THEY'RE robbing my house?

"Oh, guess you know them after all," Ryuk said Holding out a black Note Book.

000000ooooo000000

Harley looked over at Jim, "Everyone's asleep, huh?" he got a little smile on his face, "You think I could pay Scout a little

'visit?' "

"Ah, come on Harley, don't you have anything better to do than try to get in girl's pants?"

"No, not really."

"Fine, but if she start's screaming, it's your own fault."

Harley grinned, "Oh, she'll be screaming, but not for the same reason you think she will..."

"Well, if you get Scout, I want her mom. She's got a tight ass."

000000ooooo000000

Scout heard all of this, repulsed.

"Whoa..." Ryuk said, "That was unexpected..."

She snatched the book from Ryuk and opened it up, narrowing her eyes furiously.

"Gimmie a pen!"

Ryuk held out his bone pen. Scout took it and scribbled furiously

" 'Harely Rogers and Jim Di'Angelo. Car accident. After being caught robbing a household, they panick and attempt to get away.

They run outside and begin to make their escape when suddenly their car becomes stuck on the train tracks. A cargo train then

slams into them, killing them both. The conductor and his crew are unharmed.' "

" Killing in cold blood. Finally something exciting..."

"No one's hurting my mom on MY watch..." Scout said handing Ryuk the Death Note, "Put this in my room..."

000000ooooo000000

"Okay, you got the stuff?" Harely asked, hoding up a cloth bag full of the stolen goods.

"Yeah, now we just-"

Scout walked down the stairs, rubbing her eyes sleepily, wearing her nightgown, her eyes widened, seeing the two boys.

"Uh..."

"Mooooooooooooooooooooom!!!!"

"Shit!" Jim yelled

"Run!"Harley said, pushing Jim out the door just as Scout's mother rushed down the stairs.

"Scout! What happened?!"

"Mom, there were two guys! I think they were boys from my school! I was comming downstairs to get something to drink,

and I heard them talking, they were gonna come upstairs and- and-"

Scout began to tear up. Tracey wrapped her in a hug "It's Okay, sweetie, calm down...let's just call the police, and see if we can

contact your brother...I'll lock the doors."

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk stood, watching as Tracey locked the front door and picked up the phone, dialing.

"Hello, police? We've had a break in...Yes...Yes...thank you."

She hung up, turning to Scout, "The police will be here in 10 minutes."

"Good..."

"Come on, I'll make you some tea..."

Ryuk watched as they whent into the kitchen.

"Humans are so...interesting..."


	14. Questions and Nightmares

It wasn't long before the police arrived. When the police begn to question her, Scout answered in short sentences.

She told them the story as she had told her mother: that she had overheard and seen them when she'd been comming

downstairs for a drink of water.

Yes, she had been able to identify them.

No, they hadn't spoken to her.

After a few more questions, the police left to attend to an accident that had just occured not even 3 miles away.

Something about a train wreck.

000000ooooo000000

Scout went back to bed; Ryuk was in her room waiting for her.

"So, did the police buy your story?"

Scout was silent. She crawled underneath her covers and curled up against her pillow. Ryuk walked over and sat on the

edge of her bed, "Well?"

"Ryuk, I wanna go to bed now..."

Ryuk had never heard her talk like that before. So....emotionless.

"Uh...ok...in the morning then?"

Scout just rolled over and closed her eyes.

_"Huh...I wonder what's eating her..."_ Ryuk thought to himself.

* * *

Johnny woke up, feeling someone shake him. Instinctivly, his first thought was was Ray.

Not Ray. No, he's dead...

He opened his eyes and found his was looking into his sisters face. She looked like she'd been crying.

"Hey, what's wrong, kido?" he asked, propping himself up on his elbows.

"I had a bad dream..."

"Oh...about what?"

"Daddy..."

"Of course..." Johnny muttered bitterly under his breath. He looked down Tanya again, "So, what happened in the bad dream?"

Rekab, who had been standing in the corner, watching came over, he wanted to better hear the story.

"I was playing at the park, at the sandbox. And then Daddy came from nowhere and said I was a bad little girl who needed

to be taught a lesson."

Johnny narrowed his eyes. He'd heard those same word's come out his mouth when he threatened Tanya with his belt. Johnny

had never let Ray touch her, but he felt himself getting angry just thinking about it.

"Then what happened?" Rekab asked

"He said, 'Johnny can't help you here,' and took off his belt. I ran and ran, and he chased after me, and I tried to hide, but he

kept finding me and chasing me until I tripped and fell. He grabbed me and pulled my hair and... and...I woke up, right after that..."

Johnny pulled her into his lap, hugging her.

"Hey, it was just a bad dream...Ray's not here anymore, remember? And he's never ever comming back."

"I know, but...it was so scary..."

Johnny kissed her cheek, "Why don't you sleep with me tonight?"

"You mean it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'll make sure no more bad dreams about Ray come," he said.

"Okay..." she said.

Johnny laid back down and made room for his sister. She snuggled up next to him

"Night, Johnny..."

"Night, Tanya," he saidpulling the blanket over them both. Tanya sat up for a minute.

"Oh, I almost forgot, Goodnight Rekab."

She pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek.

Rekab was pefectly still for a minute, he touched the spot where she'd kissed him.

"Goodnight..." he said as the little girl curled back up with her big brother, yawning sleepily. He whent back over to his corner,

comtemplative.

_'Sweet kid...'_ he thought to himself, '_Little kid like her shouldn't have had such a bad father.' _

Rekab thought of the Shinigami king. He was sort of a father figure to all shinigami...he had always gotten along with HIM...

Then again, the King of the Dead was pretty easy going.

He looked at Tanya and Johnny again.

"Guess I picked some good human's. "


	15. Slip up

Ryuk managed to drift of to sleep again. He woke up when he heard something coming from Scout. Scout's face was buried

in the pillows, and her shoulders were shaking. He'd been around Light's sister enough timesthat he recognized what she

was doing. Scout was crying.

Ryuk stood

"Uh, Scout?"

Scout ignored him, not reacting. Ryuk stood and walked over towards her

"Scout?"

Scout turned to look at him, her face was tear stained and her eye were bloodshot from crying.

"Leave me alone!"

She threw a throw pillow at him as hard as she could chuck it. It passed right through him uselessly.

Still. Ryuk got the message.

"Uh...We can talk later..." he said floating downstairs to grab an apple.

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk whent all day without speaking to Scout. she was very quiet in school, barely saying a word. Fianlly Ryuk couldn't keep

himself quietanymore, so, at lunch, when she sat alone, he sat down in the chair next to her.

"You're um...upset about last night, huh?"

Scout poked at her lasagna with the little plastic fork she ate with, sighing.

"I'm a murderer..." she said, he head in her hands "Even if they were planning on assaulting me and my mom, that's no call to KILL

someone...I'm such an idiot..."

"Aw, come on, Scout it's not a big deal..." Ryuk said.

Scout looked up at him, looking a bit annoyed, " Maybe to you, I MATTERS to me."

Ryuk stole the apple off her plate and popped the whole thing into his mouth, "Whatever...Hey, don't you have an assignment to do?"

he asked, trying to change the subject.

Scout's eyes widened " Oh, my gosh, my Algebra homework," she said, completely forgetting about last night for the moment. She

rummaged through her back pack, digging for the elusive worksheet. A black haired girl wearing too-tight pants and a powder blue

top that showed off lots of clevage walked by. She saw Scout searching frantically and smirked

"Forget about homework, Scout?"

Scout looked up at her, "Jessica-"

"I of course did MY assignments last night. it was TOO , good luck with trying to complete it before 4th block, later loser."

Jessica flounced off without another word. Scout glowered in her direction.

"She is such a bitch..." Scout muttered, " _'forget your homework Scout? I did mine last night'_ Grrr! someone should slap her."

Ryuk waved his hand dismissivly "Don't bother. She dies in three months anyway..."

Scout looked at him, "What?!"

Ryuk's eyes widened and he raised a hand to his mouth, "Oops..."

He glanced up. Abright white light engulfed Ryuk and then vanished, taking Ryuk along with it. Scout sat there paralysed

with shock.

"Ryuk?"

She looked around, even under the table

"Where'd he go...?"

* * *

For the remainder of the day, Scout was almost painfuly aware of Ryuk's absence. Even when he didn't talk to her he was

never far from her field of vision. If it wern't for the fact that he had disapeared the way he had, and so suddenly, she might

have enjoyed it more.

Kathleen had stayed home, do to a case of the 24 hour stomach flu, so Scouts walk home was long and silent. Any remaining

guilt she'd felt from Harley and his flunky's death were forgotten as Scout wondered what had happened to the Shinigami

who had, so far, haunted her for about 2 months now.

Her mom met her at the door as she came into the yard,Her brother, Mike was there too. "Scout, we were thinking about catching

a movie, would you like to come?"

Scout nodded, "Sure, which one?"

"I'm not sure... I just feel like going to the movies," Tracey said. Scout wasn't suprised. Sometimes her mother had spontaneous

activity sydrome, as Scout and her brother had come to call it. She and Mike exchanged knowing looks.

Typical mom.

"We can pick one when we get there," Scout said putting her back pack just inside the door; she put her back pack just inside the

door and climbed into her moms car.

* * *

It was dark by the time they returned. Scout gave a small shudder, "That was the creepiest movie I've ever seen..."

"You got that right," Mike said, "I'll never be able to watch the little mermaid again..."

"Anita Deamon...She MUST be an American..." Tracey said remembering the opening credits, "Only and American would write a movie

about killer mermaids...especialy ones THAT horrible looking..."

Scout grabbed her back Pack from the floor and headed upstairs, towards her room, shuddering

"Man those things were gross... The ugliest things I've ever seen..." She opened the door to her room

"They were even uglier than-"

"Uglier than who?"

Scout nearly jumped out of her skin, she clicked on the lights and turned towards the bed. Standing there was a pale-almost

abnormaly so- boy with Black, spikey hair. His eyes were a sort of yellow color with a reddish-black outfit...

She recognized that outfit.

And that earing.

"Ryuk, Is that YOU?!"


	16. Explinations

Scout stared in shock at this....this...humanized Ryuk he was tall, not as tall as his 9 foot shinigami form, but easily six feet 3.

He looked about 20, but could pass to for at least an 18 year old.

"Uh...yeah...it's me..." Ryuk said cracking his fingers absentmindedly

"But....How?" Scout asked her face holding complete and utter confusion. Ryuk scratched the top of his head in the same manner

he did as a shinigami, "This punishment."

"Why, what'd you do?"

"I told you someones lifespan. I'm not suppose to do that. This is a level 6 punishment."

"Level six?"

"We have 9 levels of punishment for breaking our laws. starting at eight. eight through one is bad enough, but there's also an

Extreme level, and anything above 3 means death."

"Oh, harsh..."

Ryuk shrugged.

"So uh...who turned you...like this?" Scout asked taking a few steps closer.

"The shinigami king"

"the who?"

"He's kinda like our dad..." Ryuk said, knowing the true nature of the King of Death was beyond most human comprehension,

"So, you could say I'm 'grounded'."

Scout nodded, "How long are you going to be 'grounded?'"

"72 hours."

"What?!"

_**"Scout?"**_

Scout heard the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Oh crap! it's my mom! She'll flip if she see's a boy in my room! hide!"

Ryuk looked around, "Where?"

Scout grabbed his arm and shoved him in the closet, shutting the door just as her mom entered the room.

000000ooooo000000

"Scout, are you alright? I thought I heard some yelling..." Tracey asked, concern heavy in her voice.

Scout leaned heavily against the closet door, "Oh, I um...tripped, but I caught myself on the wall, so I'm fine. I must have

just yelped as a reflex."

"Oh." Tracey said, "well, alright...Get lots of sleep. We're visiting your dad tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll do that. Um...Did the doctor call?"

"Yes. He said your father's condition is stable, though he's weak from the chemo."

Tracey seemed distracted and saddened. Scout went over to her, hugging her comfortingly, "He'll be fine, mom...Dad's

a strong guy."

"I know," Tracey said, trying to smile, "That's why I married him..."

Scout sighed as her mother turned and left.

000000ooooo000000

Scout turned and walked back to the closet, opening the door. Ryuk was sitting on the floor, his long legs curled up to

his chest.

"Your closet sure is messy..."

He stood and exited the closet, a pink bra hung on his shoulder. He plucked it off and looked at it. Scout's face turned

red and she snatched it away, hitting him in the chest.

"Ow! Hey, that actually hurt..." Ryuk said touching the place where she'd struck him.

Scout put her bra in her underwear drawer, her face still red, "Okay...what am I going to do with you?"

"I still have to stick close to you, "Ryuk said, "So I guess I just follow you around like I always do."

Scout could think of twenty different reasons why that wouldn't work. But she was too tired to think about the small

details right now.

"Look I'll figure out something tomorrow, I need to go to bed, where are you gonna sleep? The chair? No...that

wouldn't work..." Scout said going off into a rant, "Under my bed! No..mom might see those long legs of yours sticking

out... How about the closet?"

"No," Ryuk said firmly, "It's dark and boring in there!"

"Well you can't stay in my room! If my mom finds a boy in here She'll flip out and then I will be _**dead**_."

Ryuk shrugged, "I could sleep on the roof."

Scout gave him an _are-you-serious?_ look and shrugged

"Do whatever you want...I'm going to bed..."

She trudged towards her bed as Ryuk opened the window and scurried out, grabbing onto the trelliss and climbing up.

He stuck his head back in, upside down, "Night Scout!"

Scout just crawled into her bed and burried her face under her pillow

* * *

Johnny wrote in his Death Note, scribbling down names as he glanced back and forth to it from his new laptop. Rekab

Watched over his shoulder

"So, how many have you kiiled do far?"

"Over the last three weeks I've killed exactly 79 alcoholics, 35 drug addicts and 92 child molesters."

"Why so many child molestors?" Rekab asked, though it seemed obvious enough.

"Cuz I want my little sister to grow up in a world safe from such bastards...I've seen some of my Late stepfathers freinds

staring at Tanya...people like that don't deserve to live."

"You know, you're turning into a regular Kira..." Rekab said, "Keep this up and people will start getting suspicious."

Johnny shook his head, "I don't want to be god...But I do want this word to go back to the way it was when Kira was

around. Things have gotten worse every year..."

"You know, I've never asked but.... are you a Kiraist?"

"Me? No. I'm Catholic. But that doesn't mean I don't think Kira had the right idea..."

Rekab just watched as Johnny wrote several more names in his Death Note.

'I think I'll go to bed now..." Johnny said, "I've got school tomorrow..."


	17. Interesting

Scout rolled over in her sleep, looking out the window. She felt her hand impact something hard, but also soft.

And wet.

She opened her eyes sleepily and stared into the sleeping face of Ryuk, who was shirtless. Scout turned and pushed

him off the bed roughly, sending him to the floor.

"AH!" Ryuk yelped as the action of falling and impacting the floor woke him up. He sat up, rubbing his back.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" he said, groaning.

Scout glared at him angrily, but was relieved he was still wearing his pants.

"Why the Hell are you in my bed?! you're suppose to be on the roof!" she said in a soft, but furious tone.

Ryuk stood, "It started raining, I got all wet, so I came inside. And the bed is always so warm..."

Scout was torn between forgiving him and punching him. So she compromised and just glared. "So why did you have take off

your shirt ?"

"Because Wearing wet clothes is uncomfortable, even YOU should know that much..." Ryuk said, " Besides...I've never taken

off my shirt before, it's usualy sewn to my skin."

"Yeah, I noticed," Scout said, "It's creepy"

Ryuk looked at his reflection in the mirror Scout had above her dresser, "Heh, so that's what my chest looks like..."

He vaguely touched his chest and stomach. He was just as thin as he was in his Shinigami form; all sinewy and lean. Scout

rolled her eyes.

"You look weird, put a shirt on."

"Why?"

"Because It makes me feel uncomfortable. I'm in my nightgown and there you are, half naked, standing at the foot of my bed."

"It's not like I could do anything to you," Ryuk said, "Shinigami aren't allowed to have sexual relationships with humans.

Although, if I wanted to, since I'm temporarily human for the time being, it might not count if I did..." Ryuk said with a thoughtful

expression on his face, "In any event, I wouldn't."

"Why's that, I'm not your type?" Scout asked sarcastically.

"Girls make me nervous..." Ryuk said, rubbing the back of his head "I'm kinda Shy around women..."

Scout almost giggled, but bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing.

she glanced at the clock, it was only 3:00 am. She still had 3 hours before she had to wake up for school. Oh well...she was too awake

to back to bed just now anyway...

Scout sighed, grabbing her bathrobe and putting it on, "Come on, I'll dry your clothes for you...I'm sure Mike has some clothes in the

laundry room you could fit into while they're drying out..."

"Can I have an apple?" Ryuk asked as they headed downstairs, "I wanna see what they taste like to humans"

Scout rolled her eyes, "You and your apple addiction..."

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk pulled his clothes back on, now warm and dry, thanks to Scout. Apples didn't taste too different than in his shinigami form,

if a little less sweet. He couldn't eat the cores either, the texture was different, and tasted funny. He suspected it was because

of the seeds. Apple seeds had arsenic traces. so, regretfully, he threw them away. He'd had three apples, and was begining to

feel full, something he'd never felt as a Shinigami.

_Interesting..._

* * *

Johnny woke up as the alarm on his clock blared. he looked at it with some annoyance, but sat up, stretching. Rekab was nowhere

to be seen.

"Oh well...he can't be far..." Johnny reasoned, Shinigami have to stick close to their Death Note owners. He exited his room and made

his way to the stripped out of his clothes and whent into the shower, the steaming water pouring down around him.

Rekab appeared beside him moment later, Johnny looked at him from the corner of his eye,

"Where were you?"

"In Tanya's room. She wet the bed last night and didn't want to wake you, so I stayed with her."

"Really? Why?"

"She's a good kid. Besides I've never had a little sister before..."

Johnny gave a small smirk from the corner of his mouth, "Well, she's a good kid alright. That's why I'm making the world the good

wholesome place it was when Kira was around."

Rekab was silent as Johnny washed his hair, scrubbing his scalp.

"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?"

"Just thinking about something."

"Oh, about what?"

"What if someone notices all the deaths?"

"Like who?"

* * *

A white haired young man, about 17, stared at his computer moniter, toying with a lock of his hair. An older man watching him from

the doorway.

"Would you like some tea sir?"

"No thank you..."

"Something to eat, perhaps?"

"No...But if you could, please bring me my figurines..."

"As you wish, sir."

"Thank you."

The man turned to leave, he looked back at the young man

"Do you think this has anything to do with Kira, L?"

"Of course not...Light Yagami is dead..."

the boy turned, looking at the old man. his black eyes so like his predicessor.

Near shut the lid to his laptop.

"However...if there's a new Kira....this could get very interesting... Watari"


	18. Meetings and Discussions

Scout had already made herself breakfast by the time her mom and Brother had woken up. A bowl of Apple Jacks, some

toast, an egg, and a glass of orange Juice. Ryuk scowled as she ate the apple noticed and looked over.

"what's your problem?"

"I hate Apple Jacks."

"How come?" Scout asked.

Ryuk snorted, "false advertising..."

Scout rolled her eyes. "figures..." she said eating another mouthful of her cereal. Ryuk had chosen not to eat. He was still

full from earlier.

000000ooooo000000

Mike trudeged downstairs, seeing Scout sitting at the table with an older boy, dressed entirely in black. He stiffened

Tracey also came downstairs, wrapped in her bathrobe. Her eyes widened a bit, seeing Ryuk

"Scout who's this?"She asked in a cautious manner.

"Oh, Um, Mom, Mike, this is Ryuk..."

"Hi," Ryuk said hoding out a hand. Mike shook it briefly. Tracey also shook his hand, her face relaxing

"So, is he a freind from school?" She asked, opening up the fridge for a glass of orange Juice.

"I don't go to-" Ryuk Started, but Scout interrrupted

"Yes! In fact I met him because of what happened in school. Mike, remember that note book I found? It was his."

"Ah..." Mike said nodding, so Ryuk, when did you get here?" he asked, making himself a cup of coffee.

" last night at about 8:00"

Mike paused in mid-sip, "What?"

Scout gave Ryuk a look, "He's just kidding. Ryuk has a *stupid* sense of humor... he got here an hour ago, so I invited him

in from breakfast

"Oh, that was nice," Tracey said sitting down with her drink, " I take it you already ate- Ryuk, was it?"

Ryuk nodded, "yeah, I had some apples."

Tracey's eyes suddenly widened. She and Mike shared a sly smirk and completely relaxed.

"Do you like apples?"

Scout rolled her eyes, "You kidding, he's addicted to them."

"So THAT explains where all of our apples have been going," Mike said drinking from his coffee cup.

"yeah, every five minutes it's 'Scout, let me have an apple' or ' Scout, give me an apple' it's ridiculous... And his Teeth..."

Ryuk crossed his arms

"What's WRNG with my teeth?!"

"Nothing...that's the problem." Scout said.

Tracey, without giving Ryuk a seconds warning, gripped his chin and opened his mouth in a professional manner. She gasped

"those teeth...they're PERFECT!" she said, as if she'd just discovered gold, "Not a single cavity or chiped tooth! and they're all

perfectly strait! A bit pointy, but that's not a problem. My goodness, I'm a dentist and even MY teeth arn't this nice..." She sighed,

"these teeth are every dentists dream..."

Scout scowled, "And he's never been to a dentist in his life..."

"Oh, somebody's jealous..."Mike said smirking, "Just because your boyfreind has better teeth than you-"

"Ryuk is NOT my boyfreind!" Scout said, a bit louder than she should have. Ryuk nodded

"Yeah, I'm just her freind."

"More like Stalker..." Scout muttered to sooner he transformed back, the better...

* * *

Johnny dressed in a red T-shirt and black jeans, his hair up in it's usual spikes. He pulled on his sneakers as Johanna came

into the living room.

"Morning Johnny..." His mother said wrapping him in an embrace. He squeezed her back, "How'd you sleep?"

"Good," she said, going into the living room area. She flicked on the TV to the morning news.

"In other news, 24 individuals died last night, all of them suffering massive heart attacks..."

Johanna shook her head, "so many deaths lately...and heart attacks at that..."

Johnny shrugged, " well, sickos like that deserve to die." Johnny said, "alcoholics, drug dealers, child molesters, murderers."

"Criminals," Johanna summerized, "this is so much like when Kira..."

she trailed off.

"If it's Kira," Johnny said, " I'm sure we can expect a much bigger body count...he's been 'resting' for quite some time..."

Johanna said nothing. Rekab looked over at Johnny, "your mother seems distracted."

Johnny was silent until he was out of hearing range and he whispered, "She was a supporter of Kira...I've overheard her praying

for him to kill Ray back before I found the Death Note. Even after Kira disapeared. Especialy when he would...hurt her. And me

too."

"Well I guess she got her wish..." Rekab said "Kira was a Death Note holder. Technically that makes you the new Kira," Rekab pointed

out.

"I don't want to be a god," Johnny said, "I just want to live in a world that isn't currupted by people like Ray. Violent greedy people

deserve to die..."

He shouldered his backpack and headed for the door

"Mom, I'm heading to school."

"alright," she said, "have fun.

"I will, " he said, "Love ya"

He pulled the door shut.


	19. A Call and A Secret

**_RING-RING! RING-RING! RING-RING!_**

Shuichi Aizawa groaned, rolling over from his position next to his wife. He grabbed up the annoying phone

"Hello?" he asked sounding somewhat irritated.

_"Mr Aizawa?"_

Aizawa sat up.

It was Near's voice.

"Oh, L...what are calling so late?"

"_Oh yes...I forgot in Japan it's still night time... my apologies_" he said, though he didn't sound the least bit regretful.

"That's fine," he said getting up and exiting the room quietly so he wouldn't wake her up."So, why did you call?"

"_I thought you'd be interested in knowing that Kira has returned_."

Aizawa nearly dropped the phone. "No, that's impossible, we destroyed the Death Notes, Light is dead..."

He tried to sound confident, sure of himself, but inside his heart pounded like a jungle drum.

_"Over the past three weeks 79 alcoholics, 35 drug addicts, 92 child molesters, and 52 murderers have all been __killed here_

_in America. All of them, in groups ranging from 13-30 daily, at about the same time, though the causes __are varied."_

Aizawa shook his head in disbeleif, "And you think there's a new Kira?"

"_Do you know of anything other than a Death Note than can kill that amount of people in such a short time? __Or the same _

_time?"_

Aizawa rubbed his temples "No...I don't...L, Are you positive?"

_"I can't be certain unless more criminals die in this same pattern... If it continues for another week, we can __safely assume _

_there is a new Kira... "_

"God..." Aizawa said, "I thought that we were done with all this Kira business..."

_"I may be over reacting..."Near said, though it wasn't very convincing, "But Mr Aizawa, I believe it would be __wise to reassemble _

_your task force..."_

"I..I understand..."

_"Goodnight, detective. I expect to hear from you and the others by noon time tomarrow. you may contact me through Watari_

_as usual."_

"yeah...Noon..." he said hanging up the phone. He sank to the floor, sighing. He looked at the phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang twice before it picked up.

"Hello?" came the sleepy voice of Matsuda from the other end.

"Matsuda, I need you to call Mogi and Ide...I just got some news from L..."

* * *

Scout stood otside her fathershspial room, she glanced at Ryuk, scowling, "you better not say anythig stupid to my dad, Ryuk."

"Hey I know how to behave myself I'm not totaly immature," he said crossing his arms.

Tracey and Mike emerged from the room before she could respond. Tracey's eyes were misty, it was clar she had either been crying

or was about to.

"The doctor says you can go in now, Scout," Mike said, a hand on their mother's shoulder.

Scout inhaled deeply and pushed the door open, Ryuk followed her inside, ducking to avoid hitting the top of the doorway.

000000ooooo000000

Scout looked over a the bed.

"Hey dad..."

James looked up from the bed "Scout, " he said smiling, his green eyes gazing at her from behind his glasses, "who's your freind?"

Scout bit her bottom lip. Her father, her hero, looked so thin...and his usualy thick brown hair, the same color as Mike's had thinned

out. she could see bruises on his arms and neck. But he looked cheery a ever.

"This is Ryuk..." Scout said, moving over to his bedside.

"Ryuk, eh? Nice to meet you."

he said holding out his hand. Scout gasped seeing the dark blue markings from the IV's as Ryuk shook his hand. James heard he and

reached out, squeezing her shoulder, "Don't be so upset, these look worse than they are..." he said. Now, tell me all about life, what's

been going on in your life since your last visit? Is there anything you wanna talk about?"

Scout suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to tell him about the Death Note. She had never been able to lie to him. Ever.

"Well...there've been a...lot of things going on..." she said. "We nearly got robbed."

"I heard. Your mother told me."

"Well, I made a 'B' in my Math class."

"Really?" James asked sounding genuinely suprised

"Yeah," Scout said, nearly laughing at the look of pure suprise on his face, "I was shocked too."

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk watched as Scout talked to her dad. It was obvious that they cared deeply for each other. He had seen Scouts father only in

photos before. Every time scout tried to see him, something interrupted or he had to go in for treatment. He had seen it often enough

to know the AIDS had severely drained him. this man was much thinner, much more pale than the photos Scout cherished do much.

Seeing Scout with her father, seeing just how much the two loved each other, almost made him feel sorry for what he knew.

His vision was normal now, but he d seen the numbers often enough to know exactly how long his life span was.

67 34 23 12

in human time, this equaled roughly 782 hours

James had about 33 days to live.


	20. Of School, Work, and Play

Scout talked with her dad until Mike stuck his head in the room, telling her that it was time to leave. Scout turned to her father.

"Well, bye dad..."

"I'll see you soon, muffin head."

" 'Muffin head' ?" Ryuk asked with some amusement. Scout groaned

"Daddy..."

James chuckled as she and Ryuk exited the room. As they made their way downstairs, Ryuk turned to Tracey, "hey, why did

your husband call scout 'Muffin head' ?"

Tracey smiled a little bit, "when she was five, she went trick or treating as a healthy breakfast, her head was a bran muffin."

Ryuk cackled, "hehehehehe! You're REALLY into the whole dentist thing, aren't you?"

Scout glowered at him, punching his arm

"Shut up!"

Ryuk rubbed the area where he'd been punched, "Ouch..."

* * *

Johnny sat in the front of class, watching the teacher as she lectured on correct wrist techniques as she painted. Rekab watched

him paint. Raising an eyebrow.

"What are you painting?"

Johnny squinted at the picture adn applied a few more brush strokes

"My boyfriend."

"Boyfriend...? you're gay?" he asked somewhat surprised

"Bi-sexual, actually," Johnny said, shrugging, "It's no big deal."

"Ah." Rekab said dismissing the issue.

Johnny continued with his painting, trying to keep the brush strokes even

* * *

Matsuda sat in the chair not knowing what to do with his hands. Mogi and Ide sat next next him in their own chairs, looking grim. Aizawa

stood, tight lipped. As a giant 'L' appeared on the moniter.

"_good afternoon gentlemen,"_ Nears voice, deeper than it had been those years ago when they had been trying to catch the first Kira. He

had been barely more than a a twelve year old. Now he was a teenager. But his mannerisms were still the same.

_"I take it Mr. Aizawa has filled you in on our current situation?"_

"Yes," Mogi said, "We're all a bit...disturbed."

_"Not surprising..."_Near's voice said from the tv, "_another Kira is a threat to not just us, but the entire world...I don't think I need to remind_

_you of what happened 4 years ago..."_

Matsuda clenched his fists a bit. He hated it when Near--L--talked about Light. Yes, Light had been Kira, but Light was still....

well...

Light. His friend.

"So, L, How do we locate the new Kira? Are there any leads?" Ide asked

_"I've researched the deaths. Apparently this started when a bar in downtown San Francisco was burned down in a fire. The victims_

_were all alcoholics and drug users. Only three individuals managed to escape. After a bit of detective work, I obtained their names._

_I want you to come to America and interrogate them. I have reason to believe at least ONE of them saw the new Kira...or is Kira _

_themselves."_

"L," Mogi asked, "Do you think...the new Kira might have done the shinigami eye trade? We'd be putting ourselves at risk if one of

them_** is**_ Kira."

_"I've thought of that option. They shall be blind folded when you interrogate them."_

"Well, that takes care of that..." Matsuda said, "So, when do we leave?"

_"Today if possible...I want to gather any vital information that could aide the investigation...I'll have Watari give you further developments_

_as I precieve them...Good day."_

The moniter turned off with a click.

000000ooooo000000

"So...the new Kira is American..." Ide said.

"Supposedly, "Mogi said, but we can't rule anything out..."

"Hey," Matsuda said, "what about Misa-"

"Out of the question." Aizawa said

"But She-"

"Is off limits. She has no memory of the Death Note, and bringing her into this could mess things up."

"But-"

"No, MATSUDA!"

Matsuda crossed his arms, "I visited her last week and she and the kid are-"

"Look, Matsuda, we are not getting Misa involved," Ide said.

Matsuda sighed, "I was just saying..."

* * *

Ryuk sat on the couch next to Mike, playing **_Super Mario Race_**.

"Ha! I'm winning!" Ryuk said.

"In your dreams, high schooler," Mike said, "I'm gonna smash you!"

Ryuk smirked, "Yeah, you're gonna win, and I'm gonna give up apples..."

He mashed the buttons, and wiggled the stick wildly. Scout watched him in exasperation. she wished he would just go hide somewhere.

she was sure he was going to screw up whatever cover she had. Tracey looked amused as she cooked dinner, vegetable stew and

grilled cheese sandwiches.

"Your freind and your brother seem to get along pretty well..."

"Yeah," Scout said bitterly, "VERY well..."

Tracey giggled, "Are you jealous?"

Scout made a noise in her throat, "No way. The only reason I like him is because he..sorta halped me out one time," she said,

remembering the cliff incident.

"Well, anyway, I think it's nice you have a guy freind."

Scout rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. _Freind..."_


	21. Interigation

Aizawa exited the room, the boy with the blindfold lifting his head towards the noise, "Are we done?" He asked in a tiny voice.

Aizawa didn't answer. He turned to Matsuda and Mogi, who had been watching from the other side of the 2 way mirror, recording

the conversation.

"Did you get it?"

"Yeah, Matsuda said, "want me send in the next one?"

"yeah, go ahead and send him in..." Aizawa said, rubbing his temple, "I don't think I can do this a third time,

I'm getting a migrane just thinking about Kira..."

Matsuda shrugged, "I'll do it. I know the questions we're suppose to ask."

Aizawa shrugged, "Whatever..."

Matsuda waited for the last person to come in. This one was a boy with short blonde hair;he had long lanky limbs

_"this kid should go out for basketball..."_ Matsuda thought to himself.

"Hello," he said, " my name is Taro Matsui. I'm here to ask you a few questions."

"why the hell am I blindfolded?" the boy asked, though his tone was flat.

"Safty reasons," Matsuda said sympathetically, "It'll be taken off when we're done."

"It better..." the boy said, as flat as the first time.

Matsuda nodded, "Alright Mr...Holmes," he said reading the paper, "what were you doing at the bar in question before it

burned down?"

"Getting a beer," the boy said, "and I was hoping to score some weed"

"Well, at least you're honest," Matsuda said almost cheerfully. The boy seemed to relax by degree's, relizing his interigator

wasn't going to just demand answers from him like the other police had when he'd first been brought in with the other two.

"Can I get some water, my mouths dry," he asked.

"Oh, sure" Matsuda said pouring some from a nearby pitcher and handing him the cup. The boy drank it, wiping his mouth.

"Much better.."

Matsuda smiled good naturedly "Can you describe who was at the bar?" Matsuda asked "anyone unusual?"

The boy cracked his neck, " Not really. My buddy Beni Underwood was with me. There were a bunch of guys in there drinking,

some of them doing drugs. Me and Beni were toking, so we wern't paying a lot of attention..."He seemed to pause, "well, there

was that one guy..."

000000ooooo000000

Mogi and Aizawa and Ide leaned in, listening intently, watching from behind the mirror.

000000ooooo000000

" 'that one guy?' " Matsuda asked curious

"there was tha tone guy who came in. He was quiet. didn't order thing, I don't think. Just sat down watching everyone scribbling

in some notebook..."

Matsuda gaped, "what? What color was the notebook?"

"Black I think... with some silver stuff near the top. Why does that matter?"

"Did you recognize him?" Matsuda asked.

"No, I'd never seen him before."

"what did he look like?"

"Eh..I guess he was average height..." the boy said, trying to remember, "his hair was really dark, not black, but almost...and I think

his eyes were brown... I can't say for sure... but he kept muttering to himself..."

Matsuda sat back in his chair, shocked.

"So, is that what you wanted to know?" the boy asked, "Are we done here?"

"yeah...we're done..." Matsuda said, the guard walked over and led the blindfolded teen out of the room. Matsuda exited from the

other door. when he entered the room the others were in, they practically buzzing. Ide and Mogi were discussing looking for

surveylance videos from that night, while Aizawa dialed on the phone.

"Hello, Watari? This is Aizawa...put me on with L."

* * *

Johnny sat on the couch, Rekab sat to his left, cross legged, with Tanya sitting in his lap, leaning against him, completly at ease with

the death god. Johnny held a large bowl of popcorn in his lap. Rekab reached over and grabbed a handful, popping it into his mouth,

crunching noisily.

"You're really good at making popcorn,' he said bouncing his leg a little.

"Thanks," Tanya said beaming up at him, "it's the one thing I know how to cook besides cereal and toast" she said snuggling closer

into death gods lap.

Johnny crunched on some of the popcorn

"Nothing like popcorn and action movies, huh?" he said half to himself.

Rekab nodded, "beats sand and bones, that's for sure...gimmie some more of that pop corn"


	22. School and Records

Scout walked into school, all too aware of the stares she was getting. She was so use to Ryuk being invisible to every one that it

really annoyed her that people were watching her as she walked down the street with the tall, pale 'gothy' boy who was crunching

on a large red apple, humming as he sometimes did.

"Hey Scout, this is gonna be interesting huh?" he asked taking another bite from his favorite food.

"Yeah 'interesting'..." Scout said with a sigh.

Thank goodness she wouldn't see Kathleen until later...

Scout sat near the back hopping that Ryuk would be overlooked. The teacher, Mrs. Kinicky walked in. She was a plump woman in her

mid-forties, and was always eyes darted around the room as she picked up her attendance sheet. She began making

Check marks as she looked, walking up and down the rows. Her eyes went to Scout, she raised an eyebrow

"Scout? Why are you sitting in 6-F? You normally sit in 4-B..."

She loved to picture the class as a grid, listing them by number and row. It was efficient and simple

for her anyway...

Her gaze slipped to Ryuk, who was playing with the core of his apple, which he'd finished moments ago. Her eyes narrowed slightly.

This boy had to be 22. Far too old to be a student here.

"What's you name?" she asked

Ryuk looked up at her, tossing his core into a nearby trash can, "Ryuk."

"Your **full** name."

"Ryuk." He stated simply

"Ryuk...Shini-gami!" Scout said quickly, "he's a friend of my brothers that's staying with us, he's doing an article on High School Students

so I volunteered to let him follow me for the next...two days" she lied doing some quick math in her head.

Mrs Kinicky raised an eyebrow

"Really?"

Scout nodded, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. Mrs Kinicky shrugged, "Very well...in that case, welcome to outr classroom Mr.

Shini-gami"

Scout breath a heavy sigh of relief when Mrs. Kinicky turned and walked up to the front of the class.

"Alright class, turn to page 896 in your text books..."

* * *

Ryuk sat at Scout's table, sitting in the same seat he'd been in when he'd been taken for breaking the rule, he didn't seem the least bit

uncomfortable. Scout tried to act normally as she ate her lunch, trying to pretend like everyone wasn't staring at her. She bit into her Pizza

letting the tomato sauce bathe her tongue in it's tangy flavor. Ryuk bit into his own. He made a face, his eyes going wide, and then

eagerly took another bite.

"Wow! this stuff is almost as good as apples!" he said, "Nothing in the Shinigami world taste's _this_ good."

Scout hoped no one heard him say that.

"What does Food from the Shinigami world taste like?" She asked, since he'd brought the subject up.

"Remember the apple I let you try?"

"yeah..."Scout said remembering the sandy, bitter flavor.

"Well, mostly like that" he said taking another huge bite of the Pizza.

Scout grimanced at the idea of eatting nothing but stuff that tasted like THAT all the time. No wonder he was so addicted to apples.

One of Scouts other friends, Kori, a mulatto girl with mocha skin, green eyes and strait dark hair came over

"Hey Scout, so who's tall, pale, and goth?"

"Ryuk...he's uh...a friend..."

"A _boy_friend?" Kori asked.

Ryuk wrapped his arms around Scouts waist crushing her to his chest, "Yep! she's my one true love" he said, placing a big wet kiss on

her cheek.

Scout squirmed away from him, punching him hard in the chest, growling.

"NO. He is NOT my boyfriend. He's more like a stalker.I should probably get a restraining order. Your dad's a cop, right?"

Kori suppressed a laugh, "Okay, so not your boyfriend, got it..." she said walking away, "See you in art class."

Scout sighed, wiping at her cheek where Ryuk kissed her, a smudge of tomato sauce coming off on her hand. She gave Ryuk a dark look

"I can't believe you just kissed me."

"Just trying to have some fun."

"by KISSING me?" Scout asked

"Oh, it was just on the cheek,"Ryuk said taking another bite of Pizza.

Scout smirked,"I'm gonna tell your 'Dad'."

Ryuk's eyebrow twitched a bit.

"I'd rather you didn't..."

"If you behave for the rest of today, I'll give you three apples when we get home,"Scout said, a bit smug that she'd made a God of Death

flinch.

Ryuk closed his eyes

three apples...

"Deal."

* * *

Near held up a figurine with the rough facial features the interrogated boy had given, he placed a small black piece of paper in his hand to

symbolize the Dath Note. He also made figurines of himself, the investigative team, and a small model of the bar.

"This is Kira," he said aloud to himself placing the figurine in a spot near the corner. "He target's these individuals here in the bar, but not

those three that escaped...He must have known those men. Even if he had the eyes, to pick out which ones were 'bad'...Obviously he

feels that these men are scum, but he himself probably didn't go to the bar very often since he took the trouble if sitting somewhere

inconspicuous...But he knew where it was..."

He stared at his Kira figurine for a moment.

"He must be involved with, or related too somebody who frequented the bar someone who would know these people and thus acquaint

them to his or her family..." He turned to the elderly man nearby

"Watari...go through the records for the past year for that bar, I want to know the names of the most frequent customers. Then give me

their names and a list of their family's names and records."

"Of course" he said, "Would you like anything else?"

"No, that'll be all..." The teenager said picking up his red robot, his most prized posession.

Watari nodded, heading out the door. Near looked at his robot, given to him by L himself all those years ago when he'd been a child.

"Kira..."he said to himself, "I'll find you soon enough..."


	23. Test's, Drawings, and Parties

Johnny sat in his Math class, concentrating hard on his current equation. He had forgotten all about the tet today and hadn't

studied. Rekab stood next to him, looking over his shoulder at the test.

"Hmm, those math problems look hard."

"They are," Johnny whispered under his breath, "I have to concentrate, and you're not helping," he added in an annoyed tone,

"Go away."

"Where?" Rekab asked.

"I don't know...go visit Tanya, her schools a few blocks down."

Rekab shruged and walked towards the wall, phasing through and spreading his insect like wings.

* * *

Tanya hummed to herself as she scribbled with her crayons. One of the boys sitting next to her looked over at her picture,

"What's that thing?" he asked, "Some kind of fairy?"

Tanya shook her head,"No. He's Rekab. He's a shishigami who follows my big brother around."

"What's a Shiligami?" the boy asked raising an eyebrow.

"I dunno, But he likes popcorn."

The boy shrugged and went back to doing his own work as Tanya resumed coloring her picture.

000000ooooo000000

Rekab phased through the wall of the kindergarden class, looking around. He spotted Tanya at a table coloring with many crayons

nearby.

" Hey Tanya."

The five year old perked her head up, she turned around, her eyes lighting up

"Rekab!" She quickly covered up her picture, "Hold on a minute..." she said grabbing the blue crayon and doodling something

quickly.

"There!"

She held up her picture. Rekab looked at it curiously

"Is....Is that me?"

she nodded, "uh-huh, do you like it?" she asked handing it to him

Rekab looked at the picture, "Yeah. I love it."

Tanya beamed and hugged him around his legs. Rekab took the picture and folded it up, sticking it in his pocket.

"How come your here?" she asked releasing him, "I thought you had to hang out with Johnny."

Rekab sat down indian style next to her seat, which still left him taller than her by at least a foot, "He was busy with a test, so he

told me to leave him alone. So I came here."

"Oh, okay," Tanya said, "Do you wanna play with me?"

"Sure."

"Good! you can help me draw pictures for Mama and Johnny," she said handing him some paper.

Rekab gave a small smile, "Alright...let's color..."

* * *

Matsuda and Mogi pulled to a halt outside the large house, a second car pulled up behind it, Ide and Aizawa climbed out.

"Alright, Did everyone remember their presents?" Aizawa asked.

"Yes," they all said in unison.

Matsuda was practically bouncing with excitement, "I can't believe L.J. is already 5 years old!"

"Yeah, seems like just yesterday we were changing diapers and helping babysit, doesn't it?" Mogi said, smiling to himself.

Aizawa rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" came a voice from inside. There was some scurrying noises and the door burst open, revealing Misa, who was dressed

in a bright blue dress that brought out her eyes.

"You made it!" she said delightedly, "come on in! L.J.'s in the living room."

She ushered them inside, bouncing with excitement.

"L.J.!" she called as she led the men into a large livingroom where a little boy sat indian style, was putting together a "look

who's here."

000000ooooo000000

The boy turned around. He was the spitting image of light, down to the last hair. His eyes lit up upon seeing the men.

"Aizawa, Mogi, Ide, Matsuda you made it!"

He stood and ran over to them, Matsuda smiled, scooping up the boy and embracing him, handing his present to Mogi to hold.

"Of course we made it, we'd never miss your birthday, L.J." Matsuda said. L.J. saw the presents the others were holding.

"Wow! Are those for me?" he asked.

"Yup," Mogi said, "you wanna open them up?"

"Arn't you forgetting something?" came a voice from the door.

L.J. looked over Matsuda's shoulder, " Grandma Sachiko! Aunt Sayu!" He said looking over to the aging woman and the young 23 year old,

"Look who just got here!" Sayu smiled at him, looking over at Matsuda

"Hi sweetie," she said walking over to him and wrapping an arm around him, "I'm Happy you're home..."

"Me too, Sayu," he said, looking at his wife of the past three years affectionatly as he pressed his lips against hers "How's the baby?"

Sayu smiled, rubbing her round stomach soflty, "the baby's fine, Touta, " she said.

L.J. squirmed out of his uncle's grip as Misa came out with a Large birthday cake.

"Okay everybody time for L.J. to make a wish!" his mother said, "Then it's time for presents!"

Aizawa watched the eager little boy. So like his father. Even the way he held himself was like Light. The only thin he seemed to inherit

from Misa was her excited nature...He thought back, remembering Light's death....

000000ooooo000000

Misa, after three agonizing months of heavy depression, had tried to commit suicide after Light had died, but her gothy lolita dress she'd

been wearing when she'd tried had snagged an iron rod, gashing her side, but effectivly stopping her plummet of death. Someone had

spotted her and called the Hospital. That's when they'd found out she was pregnant. After Misa had discovered this, her spirit seemed to

rekindle, and she lived for her child. The child she'd created with Light.

Light Yagami Junior.

000000ooooo000000

Aizawa snapped out of his thoughts as Ide elbowed him in the side. He relized Misa had the candles lit, began to sing along with the

others.

**_Happy birthday to you...._**

**_happy birthday to you...._**

**_happy birthday Light Junior.._**

**_Happy birthday, to you!_**


	24. The Idiot and The Mugger

Ryuk walked alongside Scout as she made her way home. Kathleen hadn't come the school today, and to Scout this was

both a disappointment, and a relief. At least she wouldn't have to explain about Ryuk...

"School was kinda boring," Ryuk said, "How do you go every day?"

"I LIKE school Ryuk," she stated, "I like learning new things."

"you don't like Algebra"

Scout winced, "No, I don't...it's my Achilles heel."

"Who's Achilles anyway?" Ryuk asked, " Light once told me apples were my Achilles heel."

"Oh, he was a Greek hero who's mother bathed him in the river Styx when he was a baby, making him invincible. But since

she held him by his ankle, it wasn't protected, and when he got shot in the ankle with an arrow, he died"

"From getting shot in the foot?" Ryuk asked, laughing that creepy laugh of his, "That's pitiful...what a pathetic way to die."

"You being the expert," Scout muttered, half to herself "I think it has more of a symbolic meaning, than a literal one Ryuk."

"Whatever. It's still a pathetic way to die. No one dies from getting shot in the ankle. I'm a god of death, I would know."

Scout once again rolled her eyes, "Come on, _Hades_, let's just get home, I have homework to do."

"Who's Hades?"

"The god of Death," Scout stated.

"Never met him."

Scout gave a facepalm, shaking her head

"Geez, he's an idiot..."

* * *

Night fell as Johnny walked down the street. Rekab hovered behind him, his insect wings glinting a bit under the just now

iluminating street lights.

"Johnny..." Rekab said as he floated alongside him. He got no response.

"Um, Johnny..."

"Not now, Rekab," Johnny said, "I don't like talking to you in public."

"But it's important."

"what can be so imortant that you'd-"

"There's someone following us."

000000ooooo000000

Johnny's steps faultered for half a second, but he continued walking "What do you mean 'followed?' "He asked under his breath.

"Some Guy is following you, he's about 50 feet behind us."

Johnny was silent as he continued walking. There was no reason to panic. He looked out of the corner of his eye as he pretended

to check his watch...

A mugger.

He almost laughed. It was a man wearing a dirty trenchcoat and a thick, wild beard. He was wearing dark glasses to hide his

eyes

" A mugger...For a second there, I thought I had something to worry about..." he whispered.

Rekab tilted his head, "Youre not worried?"

"I know how to deal with Muggers," he said offhandedly, "Now if it was the police..."

"You'd be really screwed"

"That's an understatement," Johnny said, " Can you tell if he has a gun?"

Rekab fell back, putting some distance between himself and Johnny. A few moments later he was once again at his side.

"Two. One in his pocket, another straped to his hip."

"Damn..." Johnny swore.

"Now you're worried?" Rekab asked. Johnny shook his head, his mouth a thin line.

"No, like I said before, I know how to deal with Muggers..." He said grimly, "I don't expect you to help, because that might get you in trouble

the Shinigami King. I wouldn't want you to get punished for helping me."

THAT took Rekab by suprise; he didn't quite know how to respond.

000000ooooo000000

Before he could react, Johnny turned into a dark alley.

"Johnny?" Rekab asked. Johnny said nothing, he just stood there in the shadows. The mugger, a man in his mid fourties with a mean face came

closer,

"Where'd that little pretty-boy go...?" he muttered to himself, walking deeper into the Alley. Johnny moved deeper into the shadows, spotting

an empty wine bottle laying next to an unconcious Wino with a dirty, but soft, face, he picked it up.

The mugger turned, hearing some noise. Johnnyleapt from the shadows and struck the mugger in the head so hard the bottle shattered. The

Mugger left out a sound that was more squeek than grunt.

_**"Ma-kueef!"**_

He hit the ground hard. Johnny took both guns off the Muggers body, taking out the bullets and throwing the guns into the trash.

Rekab watched all this silently. When Johnny came out of the Alley, he was quite impressed

"Your pretty good at improvising."

"What'd you expect? look at who my Stepfather was. Look at where I use to live. you think I didn't run into scum like that? It's no big deal"

The Shinigami watched as Johnathon Morgue walked down the road, looking very cool and calm.

"I bet Tanya made you Popcorn," he said, "so hurry up already."

Popcorn...

"Popcorn popcorn popcorn popcorn popcorn!" he yelled.

* * *

Near looked through the files Roger-no, Watari- had given him. The information had been...a bit harder to get than he thought it would be.

Eventualy though, with a few pay offs, he'd gotten what he wanted.

"In this stack of papes, I will find Kira..." he said to no one in particular..." And if I don't, I'll just have to start over."

He started off from A-M by last name


	25. Offers

**_TWO DAYS LATER..._**

* * *

Aizawa and the others sat in their chair in front of the big moniter, where Near would speak to them. Watari had informed them that

Near had several suspects that matched the profile given to them when they'd interigated the boys.

"I'm patching him in now..."he said fidling with a knob.

Near's insignia appeared on the screen.

"_Hello_," he said, "_I trust you're well?"_

"Watari told us you found a few purp's who matched the profile," Aizawa said.

"_Yes... let's get strait to the point then. After doing some extensive research, I've managed to compile a list of people who might be the new_

_Kira...about 14 matched the physical description. I furthur broke it down by age, personality type, living conditions, criminal record, and_

_medical history. This left me with 5 individuals that matched the requirements...I'm sending you their profiles now..."_

A list of names and photos appeared on the screen. Five boys, all with dark hair.

_"I've alphabetized them based on the first letter of their last names. Furthermore, I've sent you all their records, so you'll know exactly _

_what I know..."_

"L, what do you want us to do with this information?" Aizawa asked.

_"I should think that would be obvious, detective__...I want you to come here and join us in this investigation. You have more in depth experience_

_in tracking down Kira. We could use your services."_

"But- Sayu's due for our baby soon...I can't leave her alone..." Matsuda said, " You know how she is...especially when it's about Kira..."

"And my girl's going to graduate next month," Aizawa said.

"_I relize you all have personal obligations to attend to,"_ Near's voice said, "_ I'll give you 48 hours to think it over..."_

* * *

Scout lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, dark circles under her eyes. It was pitch black outside and unnaturaly silent. Ryuk poked his

head in through the door. Scout jumped before relizing who it was.

"Ryuk..."

"Hey, Scout, " he said walkingthrough the door, quite content to be returned to his rightful Shinigami form. Scout gave him an

annoyed look. "What is it?"

"I'm bored..."

"It's Two A.M. go to bed," she said simply.

"Shouldn't YOU be in bed?" Ryuk asked.

"I can't get to sleep," Scout admitted.

"How come?"

"If I knew, I would be asleep, wouldn't I?" Scout asked.

"Right..." Ryuk said plopping on the end of her bed. Scout sat up pulling her legs up to her chest, "I bet Shinigami don't have trouble

falling asleep, do they?"

"Well, Shinigami don't have to sleep. We won't die from lack of it, so sleep is purly recreational."

"Do you ever dream?"

"Sure we do. we just don't have to be asleep to dream."

"What do you dream about?" Scout asked

"Apples."

"Heh...why does that not suprise me..." Scout muttered.

"What do YOU dream about smarty pants?" Ryuk asked.

" Lots of stuff. Dentistry, Fighting, tv shows, monsters, dinosaurs, Flying-"

"Flying, huh?" Ryuk asked.

"Yeah," Scout said, "But-"

Before Scout could react, he stood and grabbed her by the waist.

"Hey! what're you-"

Ryuk picked her up and took two steps to the window, jumping out and flapping his wings, pulling her up and up into the air."

"Ahh! Put me down! Put me down!" she yelled kicking her legs.

"Sure. Right here?" he asked loosening his grip.

Scout looked down and grabbed onto him tightly, "I change my mind! Don't drop me!"

Ryuk laughed insanely as always and kept flying upwards, tightening his grip.

Scout watched her house grow smaller and smaller as Ryuk climbed ever higher into the sky. His wings flapping and catching an updraft.

She looked over the land which seemed to stretch out under her.

It all looked...

so small....

Scout felt very insignificant. She was but a mere speck in the great scheme of things. Unlike the god that was currently carrying her as he

flew through the night sky. Ryuk was immortal, for all intents and purposes, and he would be around long after she and her freinds and family

were dead and gone.

"Hey, Ryuk?"

"yeah?"

"What's the Shinigami world look like? Is it like this one?"

"You wanna see for yourself?" he asked.

"See for...myself?"

Without another word, Ryuk grinned and flew ever upwards. Scout felt lightheaded, and floaty, as if she was seperating from her body. Her grip

on Ryuk was loosening, she slipped down a bit. Ryuk tightened his grip, holding her like a child

"Hold on!" he warned as a bright light engulfed them. Scout closed her eyes as they vanished abruptly from the night sky


	26. Matsuda's choice & The Shinigami Realm

Matsuda sat with Sayu. He'd just told her what Near had asked, and Sayu was silent. Matsuda got nervous when she was

quiet...it reminded him too much of back when Mello had kidnapped her, and she'd gone into shock from the trauma.

None of the men had...touched her, as Matsuda had feared when she'd told him what happened to her after she'd finally

recovered from her shock. But they'd made jokes and slapped her around a few times.

Matsuda had become Sayu's confidant, and it wasn't long after that they'd started seeing each other. But whenever

the name KIRA was spoken she'd act like that same terrified 18 year old.

Sayu looked up at him, meeting his eyes

"I don't want you to go...I can't bear the thought of losing you, Touta..."

Matsuda wrapped her in an embrace, holding her shaking form.

"I..Have the choice to go or not...."Matsuda said putting a hand on her shoulder, "If you ask me not to I won't go...I'll stay

here with you. And the baby," he added placing a hand on her round belly, where the life within kicked faintly.

Sayu met his eyes again, "You'll stay?"

Matsuda nodded, "If you want me to...I'm pretty useless to the task force anyway, remember?"

Sayu might have smiled under different circumstances.

"Besides...I'm sure you need me more than they do...I'll still be part of the investigation, I just won't have to go do

anything dangerous. I can work on the case from here in do you want me to stay?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm staying," Matsuda said

Sayu let out a shuddery breath of relief, clinging to her husband tightly, "Touta...thank you..."

Matsuda kissed the top of her head, resting his chin on her forehead. He was making the right choice...

* * *

Scout felt disembodied as the white light engulfed her and Ryuk. She felt like everything about her was slowly disintegrating.

She felt all memories slipping away along with her identity. The only thing about her that was solid was the arms gripping

her tightly.

_who's arms?_

she couldn't remember. She heard a voice, "Hold on Scout. Almost there."

_Scout? who was Scout? Where were they going again?_

Scout felt her stomach clench and cramp painfully she opened her mouth to cry out, but then it was gone. The white light

was gone. She was solid again, and so were her memories. She was Scout. The one holding her was Ryuk. Why had she

forgotten these things?

Scout shook off her disorientation as Ryuk set her on her feet

"Well, here we are," he said.

Scout rubbed her eyes and looked around

Cliff surrounded her on either side, high and rocky, Strange dome-like structures polka dotted the landscape. Bones and dust

were everywhere.

"This is the Shinigami Realm?" Scout asked.

"Yup," Ryuk said.

Scout kinda felt sorry for Ryuk. This place was...no pun intended...dead.

"Hey, look, it's a human!"

Scout whipped around and looked into the face of an unfamiliar Shinigami.

"GAH!"She yelped, nearly falling backwards, he backed away from the Skull-headed thing, only to bump into yet another,

this one was dressed like an Indian chief. She yelped again, seeing many other Shinigami. All of them talking excitedly

"Whoa...Ryuk brought an ACTUAL human here!" one of them said, amazed

"Is that against the rules?"

"I don't think so."

"-I don't remember any rule that says you can't"

One of the Shinigami, a tall one that looked like a giant beaver with fangs, poked at her his with a clawed finger.

Scout slapped at the Shinigami's paw, "Don't touch me!" she said.

Ryuk cleared his throat, " calm down Scout, they can't hurt you. You're** MY**human I'm the only Shinigami allowed to kill you,

remember?" he asked in a "man-you're-forgetful" tone.

This only made her feel a fraction better about her situation. The other Shinigami watched her curiously. They weren't showing

any signs of pulling out their Death Notes. They just seemed curious.

Scout relaxed a little. The cattle-skull Shinigmai walked over to her

"So you're Scout huh? We've been watching you through the viewing orbs, you're very interesting!"

"Um...thanks..." Scout said.

"No, really!" another said, this one looked skelatol only black and with a lion head with three eyes, "You're almost as interesting

as Ryuk's last human."

"That reminds me...where is Unnamed?" he asked.

"I dunno. I think he whent to go find some apples..." a mummy-like Shinigami with a metal plate over his eyes said, "He's calling

himself Kira now..."

Ryuk shrugged and Turned back to Scout, "So, you wanna take a look around?"

Scout, who was begining to relize the other Shinigami wern't going to harm her, inhaled deeply, letting out a sigh

"Why not?"

"You just better hope you don't run into Armonia Justin Beyondormason..."a Shinigami with a female sounding voice said

"Ah, I'm not afraid of Justin..."Ryuk said, though his tone was a bit unconvincing, "There's no rule against it."

"Who's Justin?" Scout asked.

"He's the old mans right hand-guy, and a real stickler for the rules...he's like...the Vice principle," Ryuk said thinking of an example

to compare him too, "But we don't have to worry about him."

"Oh..." Scout said,, a bit doubtfully as Ryuk and the other Shinigami led her deeper into the Shinigami relam


	27. The King of Death

Ryuk led Scout around, showing her what there was to see.

"These are our viewing spheres," he said stopping in front of one where a Shinigami sat watching some humans. Scout

leaned forward, it was some people in Mexico. they were dancing happily, cheering. The Shinigami pulled out her Death

Note and scribbled down a name. Suddenly, one of the members of the meriachi band clasped his heart and collapsed,

disrupting the entire affair as he writhed on the ground for a few moments before becoming utterly still. Some of the people

screamed, one of the Other meriachi's tried performing CPR.

The Shinigami who wrote the name turned and looked at Scout, who looked shocked.

"What?"

"You just killed that guy...in the middle of his song..."

The shinigami shrugged and stood, "I like musicians. And Unfinished songs are better anyway, wouldn't you agree?"

Scout just stared as the Shinigami stood and left. Ryuk also watched her leave

"That's Yimma the Unfinisher. She's creepy even by Shinigami standards."

Scout just gave a dumb nodd.

"Hey Scout, you wanna try?" Ryuk asked motioning to the sphere.

"Um..."

"Go ahead, it's not like looking's gonna hurt," Ryuk said. Several Shinigami who'd followed them muttered and nodded in

agreement. Scout let out a woosh of air and sat where Yimma the Unfinisher had sat moments before, looking into the

sphere, "How does it work?" she asked.

"Think of a person, or place," Ryuk said.

The first thing that came to mind was, for some reason, Osama Bin Laden. The image shifted to the oh-so-recognizable

terrorist, who was currently making another of his damned death to America tapes.

Scout scowled at the man who'd caused so many deaths

"Ryuk, remind me to kill that guy when we go home...." she muttered

"You mean IF you go home."

Scout and Ryuk turned around and faced the second in command himself. The jewled Skeleton, Armonia Justin Beyondormason.

000000ooooo000000

Scout gulped. this guy was even taller than Ryuk... he was a skeleton, only he seemed to be made of gold and jewels. He

was both terrifying and entrancing.

Ryuk cleared his throat, "Hey Justin..."

"Ryuk," he said in a bored way, "Are you suicidal? "

Ryuk straitened, "Hey, there's no rule that says I can't bring her here."

Justin took a breath, though with what lungs Scout could only imagine, " I don't think there should have to BE a rule, Ryuk..."

Ryuk didn't say anything. He looked like kid who'd been caught doing something naughty by their parent.

"Well, I...uh..."

Scout bit her bottom lip, "Don't be mad at him," she said before she knew what she was doing, "I asked him to take me

here."

Ryuks gaze snapped over to her, his expression suprised.

Justin the Jewel Skeleton turn his eyeless gaze on her. Her breath caught. It felt like he was gazing right THROUGH her.

He motioned for her to come closer. Almost hypnotized, she took a step forward. Justin looked her up and down.

"A human should not wish to see the dwelling place of Death, Scout Hemmings..."

Scout didn't say anything. Justin's penatrative gaze moved away from her eyes to just above her head, reading her life

span. Scout let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding in, giving a shudder. Justin glanced at Ryuk,

"Have you offered her the eyes by any chance?"

"Yeah, but she didn't want them."

"Hm." Was all Justin said; he straitened and looked down at her, "You will come with me, Scout Hemmings...You too Ryuk.

This situation is most unusual...you must both come before the **King of Death."**

* * *

Scout stuck close to Ryuk as Armonia 'Justin the Jeweled' Beyondormason, led them into a cave.

"Hey, Uh, Scout?" Ryuk muttered.

"Yeah?" Scout asked, barely above a whisper, Scared stiff.

"Thanks for...you know..."

"No problem..." Scout said her whole body shaking.

"You know, He's not that bad..." Ryuk said in an attempt to calm her down.

Scout just kept her eyes on her feet.

"Justin...." A deep, yet gentle voice called from above.

Justin looked up, bowing, " Yes My King, It's me. I've brought Ryuk...and a Human girl."

"A human?" the voice asked.

"Yes. Ryuk brought her here."

There was a long silence until the voice said, "Step closer, girl..."

Scout trembled as she took a few reluctant steps forward. Above she could make out a vague Large round shape in the

dim torch light.

"Ahh...Scout Hemmings, is it?" the voice said.

"Y-yes sir..."

The voice gave a small chuckle, "I see I'm going tohave to flex a few old muscles. Otherwise I'm going to end up scaring

you to death before your time..."

There was the sound of grunting, and a sort of whooshing sound. the sound of rattling chains reached her ears and

something dark dropped down, landing smoothly a few feet in front of her.

She took a step back as the figure, easily about 10 feet tall, stood, straitening, two red pin points of light staring at

her. The figure steped into the light.

"Hello, Scout Hemmings. I am the Shinigami King..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout stared up into the face at the Lord of Death. He looked...human. Except for being 10 feet tall that is...

He appeared to be a man in his mid fourties. He had greying black hair. No, black wasn't the color...It was way darker

than black... His eyes were bright yellow. His face, over all, seemed stern, but kind. She could understand why Ryuk

Said the Shinigami King was like a father. He did sort of give off that vibe...

The Shinigami king turned to the Jewled skeleton, "Justin, you may leave now. I wish to speak with them alone..."

"Yes, My Lord," he replied bowing once more and leaving.

When he was gone, the King of Death turned his gaze to Ryuk, clicking his tongue; he shook his head "Ryuk, What **am**

I going to do

with you?"

Ryuk got that guilty-kid look again. The Shinigami king shook his head again and turned his Gaze to Scout.

"As for you..." he said, his tone shifting from Fatherly annoyance to questioning confusion, "Why on Earth would you

want to see the Shinigami Realm?"

Scout looked at her feet.

"Well, I um...I..."

The Shinigami King lifted her chin with his index finger, "I prefer to be looked in the eye when I'm spoken to," he said.

Scout looked into his eyes.

"I..."

Ryuk took a step forward, "It was my idea, Old man," he said repectfully, "She made an off hand question and I sort

of took her at her word..."

The Shinigami King nodded, "I suspected as much," He said straitening, "At least you admitted it...Now...let's talk..."


	28. Bad Dreams and Dismissal

Johnny groaned in his sleep, tossing and turning. Rekab, who had come back from checking on Tanya, stared. Johnny normaly

slept like the dead, only moving slightly or occasionaly muttering a half syable. It was unsettling. Especialy seeing distress on

his face. Rekab reached, his fingertip just brushing Johnnys shoulder.

"Wahhh!" Johnny yelped, sitting up, his breathing erractic, sweat beading his forehead. He looked over at the startled looking

Shinigami "Rekab..." he muttered, barely above a croak. He turned and glanced at the clock next to his bed

4:42 A.M.

"Damnit..." Johnny swore. He kicked his covers off of himself and climbed out of bed.

"Something wrong?" Rekab asked tilting his head a little.

"No." Johnny said firmly. He went over to his rat's cage, watching the newly awoken creature scurry around it's cage. He

reached in and pulled him out

"Hey Charlie..."

He sat down at his desk, sighing as he began petting the rodent, his face relaxing. The rodent stretched under his master's

petting, making squeeks of delight. He loved affection. Rekab walked over to where Johnny sat, pulling his legs up so that he

was floating indian style next to his human.

"Were you having a nightmare?"

Johnny was silent. Rekab took this for a yes.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"It'll help if you talk about it, you know."

"You've been watching too much Dr. Phil..." Johnny muttered.

Charlie walked across the desk, limp-hopping as always. Johnny had become accustomed to seeing the three legged rat

bounce around. With his black and white fur, and his quivering nose, he almost reminded him of a rabbit.

"Charlie's cute, isn't he?" Johnny asked.

He's avoiding the issue, Rekab decided in his mind, " If you don't want to tell me, that's fine," he said, "I proabably wouldn't

want to know anyway. Human dreams are boring. You probably dreamed about failing a math test..."

Johnny gave him an almost-glare, "Don't try that reverse psychology shit with me Rekab...I'm not in the mood."

"Was it about your Step father?" Rekab asked.

Again the silence.

Rekab decided to drop the issue.

Johnny picked up Charlie and out him back in his cage, "Night, Charlie," he said scratching one of his ears and letting the

rodent lick his nose when he raised him to eyes level.

* * *

Scout watched as the Shinigami King basically scolded Ryuk for being reckless. The thing about the Shinigami King was that he

didn't sound angery, but somehow he made you feel guilty and slightly scared at the same time. Ryuk looked like he'd rather

hide in a hole somewhere than stand there with the Lord of Death himself scrutinizing him.

"...And so Ryuk, while technicaly it is not against the Rules, I would advise you not to do it again..."

"Y-yes sir..." Ryuk said.

The Shinigami King He turned to Scout, " Now, young lady, where's your Death Note?"

"Um...I left it at home...Under my pillow, where I always keep it at night...I didn't bring it with me...Ryuk sorta just snatched me up."

He nodded, "I see..How many names have written down?"

Scout did some calculating in her head, "Um...I've had it for about 4 months now, so...23 I think...I can't remember."

"Only 23? Hmm..."

"Well, I'd rather not use it at all, except for the thirteen day rule..."

"Thirteen day rule?" The Shinigami King asked, raising an eyebrow. Ryuk, behind Scouts back, got a panicked look on his face and

waved his arms while shaking his head in a 'NO' gesture. The Shinigami King gave a smile, "Oh...of course...the thirteen day rule..."

Ryuk gave a sigh of relief.

"In any event, You should return home at once. I don't think I have to say it would be best that you don't repeat your little adventure

to anyone...In fact, the best solution would be to erase your memory of this event. But I'll leave the decision to Ryuk. He can make his

own decisions, though sometimes I doubt their wisdom...But I have a feeling you're not the type to cause mischief," he said with

another, somewhat playful smile He reached down and tussled her hair.

Scout got the feeling she was just given very special treatment.

"You may go home now," he said, though it was more of an order rather than permission. Ruk nodded, practically shoving Scout towards

the mouth of the cave, "Bye, old man," he said giving a wave.

"Just don't get into anymore trouble..."He said, "I don't want to see you again unless it's for something important that doen't involve

you breaking the rules," he added.

Ryuk hurried out dragging Scout along behind him. Once he was sure they were out of range of the cave, he stopped, shuddering

"That was rough...There's a reason the Shinigami king isn't easily fooled...No one can stand lying to him..."

"I noticed..." Scout said, remembering te penetrating way he had looked into her eyes. She would never have been able to lie to him

even if she'd tried. She wouldn't have had the nerve.

"Ryuk, you're dad's one tough cookie..."

"Yeah, tell me about it..." he said, you're dad's a dentist. Consider yourself lucky."


	29. Insomnia, Departure, and Arrival

Near sat in his room, various action figures and other things in seemingly messy piles around the room. Rester, his

second in command , walked in, nearly steping on a pile of army men. He leaned down to pick it up

"Commander Rester, Please leave that alone...It's part of a crime sindicate in South America I'm also investigating..."

"Right..." He said shaking his head, "Um, Near...it's late, don't you think you should get some rest?"

"Most likely..." he said setting up more action figures, "But as I'm rather busy, sleeping would interupt my thinking

patterns."

"I see..."

"Tell Lidner to pick up the Taskforce Members when they arrive. Mr. Matsuda will not be with them."

"How do you know?"

"Three reasons, Commander. Number one: his wife will be giving birth with a few days, so he'll feel the need to stay

with her to look after her and the baby. Number two: He dislikes working with me do to his belief that I had something

to do with the reason Mikami didn't check his Death Note. And Number three, Watari called and informed me of his

decision. He'll remain in Japan as our correspondant."

Rester gave a small nodd, "Ah. Too bad. I like Matsuda. He's enthusiastic about his work."

"Indeed," Near said, " As I was saying, when they arrive, asign them each one suspect to follow out of the list I provided."

"Yes Sir," he said, nodding, heading for the door.

"Rester?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Thank you for your concern..."

Rester shrugged, "It's no big deal...Goodnight."

"You too," he said as the door creaked shut.

* * *

Scout and Ryuk walked down a set of stairs that led to a vortex of sorts. Ryuk lifted her up by the waist and placed her on his

back, "Time to go home."

Scout nodded, "How long have we been up here? My watch doesn't work here."

"Ryuk shrugged, "I dunno...an hour or two, human world time."

Before Scout could respond one way or another, Ryuk spread his wings and dived off the cliff into the Vortex. Scout held on

as the White light from earlier enveloped them. Scout once again felt herself slip away. All of her memories and thoughts

fading away.

"Ryuk..." Scout said, forgetting it right after she spoke it.

"Just hold on, it'll be over in a minute," a voice reassured her. Scout closed her eyes, the nothingness closing in on her. Suddenly

it was gone, feircly cold high altitude air greeted her, she shuddered as all her memories returned, and her body getting cold.

"That's the second time that's happened..." Scout said.

"The memory thing? Yeah, happens to everyone their first time," Ryuk said, "Once you get enough practice it goes away."

Scout held onto him tighter, her fingers losing their feeling.

"I d-don't intend o-on g-g-getting use t-to it..." she said, shivering.

"Ah, it's not that bad..." Ryuk insisted.

"-R-Ryuk, I c-c-can't feel m-my a-arms..." she said

"What do you mean?"

Scout's grip sliped, she scrambled numbly with her fingers and legs trying to grab hold of Him. Ryuk caught her by the back of her

pajama shirt.

"Okay...maybe we're a bit high..."

"**_A-choo_**!" Scout

Ryuk adjusted his grip until he was holding her as he was before. He headed downwards, flapping his wings. The temperature grew

warmer as they decended, They phased through the roof, landing in her bedroom. He set her down. Scout nearly fell, her legs and

arms tingling as feeling returned. She burried herself in her comforter, snuggling into the matress.

"I've got 3 more hours until I have to wake up for scho-**_A-CHOO_**!" She said.

"Uh...sweet dreams..." Ryuk said.

"**_A-CHOO!"_**

* * *

Aizawa, sat in his seat, staring out the window. Ide was asleep and snoring in his seat between him and Mogi, who was reading a

magazine he'd bought at the airport.

"I wish he'd shut up..." Aizawa muttered. Mogi reached into his pocket nd pulled out a round, green ball, placing it in Ide's mouth,

effectivly stopping his snoring.

"Lucky tennis ball," he said when Aizawa looked at him questioningly, "From my high school chapionship game...first tim it's come in

handy in 13 years."

"Well, Aizawa said, better late than never...We're gonna need all the luck we can get."


	30. Colds, Gods, and Spys

Scout's alarm clock blared as it went off.

**_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BE-"_**

Scout hit the snooze button groggily before it could let out another beep. She sat up, giving a small groan. She felt so heavy...

and her head felt like it would pop. Ryuk appeared beside her from who knows where.

"Hey Scout."

"Mording Ryuk..." Scout said. Her congested head mangling her words.

Ryuk tilted his head, "You look like shit, Scout."

Scour made a moan in her throat, leaning against the wall as she left her room, heading towards the bathroom. Tracey emerged

from her room down the hall, "Morning sweetie how did you-" her eyes widened upon seeing her daughter,"Scout!"

She walked over, a concerned look on her face.

"Scout, are you alright?"

Before Scout could answer, he mother place a hand on her forehead

"Oh my gosh! You're burning up, your face is all red..." Tracey said worriedly, "Go back to bed right now, you're not going to school

today."

"But Momb-"

"Bed," her mother insisted, pushing her back in the direction of her bedroom, "I'll call the school office and let them know you won't

be coming to school today."

Scout wanted to argue, but she felt sooo tired...

She crawled back into her bed and laid down. Ryuk stood next to the bed, looking doen at her

"Think your sick from last night?"

"Probabaly, which makes this YOUR" Scout said, groggily reaching out to punch him. Her first went right through him, "You idiot...."

Scout said, coughing into her pillow.

Ryuk just sat down at the foot of her bed, "Well, this should be interesting..." He said as Scout dropped off quickly into sleep.

* * *

Johnny walked down the street, Rekab floated along beside him. "So, you think of anyone else to kill? the Shinigami asked

"I've been thinking about expanding. Start killing other country's criminals too," Johnny said, pretending to talk into his

cell phone, which he pulled out and held to his ear.

"Heh, so you are gonna follow in Kira's footsteps..."

"No, I still don't plan on becoming God," Johnny said,"But I am going to clear this world of evil."

"People will suspect it's Kira."

"And they can keep thinking that. I am Kira, but I'm not a god. "

"Well, maybe not right now..." Rekab muttered to himself

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing important" Rekab said, "Just thinking out loud..."

000000ooooo000000

Aizawa watched his target, Johnathon Morgue, walking down the street. He was talking into his cell phone. It was about 4:30,

he had already watched as he had walked his sister seemed close.

Now he was just walking around, not doing anything. He seemed like an average teenager, so far. Aizawa reminded himself

that so had Light, when this whole thing had started 10 years ago.

He couldn't rule him out. Wouldn't, no matter what, unless one of the others found the real Kira.

The boy pu his cell phone away as another boy walked over to him. they stood there talking for a minute, then they both laughed

and began walking down the street towards a movie theatre, where two movies were playing: 2012, and New Moon.

"Heh...teenagers are teenagers, alright, even if they might be Kira..."

* * *

**_hi! sorry if the chapter is short, but I've got a lot going on right now and this is all I could write under my time constraint_**

**_the next one will be longer, I promise!_**


	31. Fever and Deductions

Ryuk watched Scout sleep. her face had turned even redder, and she coughed a lot. Ryuk almost felt guilty, seeing Scout

like that. Tracey came in once to take her temperature and and give her some medicine. It was purplish and it smelled sour,

Ryuk didn't envy Scout. When Tracey left, he strode over to the bed, placing his hand on the still unconscious Scout's

forehead, feeling the heat from her fever sink into his hand. He removed it but the heat lingered. Ryuk out his hand

on his face, feeling the warmth against his cheek.

Light had gotten sick once, but he hadn't gotten this hot. Once again Ryuk felt that wave of almost-guilt wash over him.

He glanced at the calender.

Scout's dad, James, had only 28 more days left before his death. And now Scout was sick. Talk about bad luck. Ryuk sat

on the edge of her bed, he spotted her Death Note sticking out from the edge of her pillow. He pulled it out and studied it.

he flipped it open, looking at the names. So few, compared to the thousands of lives Light had taken. No, more like tens of

thousands.

He saw Scouts eyes flicker open briefly

"Ryuk?"

"Yeah. Hey, Scout, you forgot to kill that Bin Laden guy."

Scout gave him a fuzzy look,"Huh...? she asked, half out of it.

Ryuk handed her her Death Note, "You made me promise to remind you to kill Osama Bin Laden."

"Oh...right..." she said groggily. She took a pencil and scribbled the name down, and then rolled over, "There... now go away,

I'm tired..." She coughed violently for a minute and then fell back asleep, groaning.

Ryuk continued to watch her sleep He tucked her Death Note back inside her pillowcase, in case Tracey came back in and saw it.

That wouldn't be good. Scout murmured something in her sleep about dentists and gods. Or was it Dentist God? Ryuk laughed

raspily to himself to himself. Dentist god....

_"I think I'll go eat an apple..."_ he thought

and Ryuk phased through the floor to do just that.

* * *

Johnny and David exited the theatre talking amounst themselves.

"Heh, that was cool," Johnny said, "New moon rocks."

"Meh...it was more like a chick flick..."

"You kidding? that movie was Kick ass and you know it."

David rolled his eyes, "Whatever...The fighting scenes were pretty cool, I guess."

"You've got no taste in movies."

"Hey, I'm just saying, the book was better. but they did a good job with the movie...It's better than the first one."

"Definitely" Johnny nodded in agreement.

000000ooooo000000

Rekab listened to the two humans talk. the movie had indeed been entertaining. he didn't understand why some of the men

in the audiance had been uninterested in it. Because the main character was female? That seemed stupid.

"I liked it" he said, knowing only Johnny would hear him, "I thought it was very tasteful. I think people put too much emphasis

on being on team edward or team Jacob...they'd both be good matches for her. Though I believe Edward is the clear choice

of Bella."

Johnny acted as if he couldn't hear the Shinigami talking as he and David walked down the street. Rekab was sure they'd

discuss it later, so he said nothing.

* * *

Aizawa continued to watch them, his hidden camera filmng everything they did and recording everything they said. Once again,

he was struck with how boringly normal this boy was. Then again, it would be a few days before he truely gained a sense

of how this Johnny boy really behaved. He'd have to learn his patterns.

Eventualy, the two boys spilt up and Johnny made his way towards his apartment building. Aizawa sighed. Obviously he couldn't

go in there.

"Well, looks like I'm done for the day...Might as well report to Near..." he said, pulling out his cell phone.


	32. Sickness

Scout tossed and turned as she slept. Visions of strange creatures and black notebooks danced through her

head. She heard laughter and screams and rolling dice.

"_**Scout..."**_ a voice from somewhere in the dark called, "_**Scout**_..."

She squeeze her eyes shut and gritted her teeth, shaking her head "No...no...n-no..." she protested

_**"Scout..."**_

"No."

"_**Scout..."**_

"No...!" She choked out in a whimper

"_**Scout, sweetie, wake up**_..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout opened her eyes, her vision hazy she looked up at her mother, "Mom...?"

Tracey sighed with relief,"Sweety, you were having a nightmare...You were sweating and kicking your legs

and kept saying strange words like 'shinigami' and 'death world'...."

Scout could barely remember the dream that had just moments ago been tormenting her. She sat up and stetched,

yawning.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"on and off all day sweetie...you have a vey high fever... I think I should take you to the doctor."

Scout opened her mouth to respondm but a sudden wave of nausia washed over her. She grabbed the waste basket

next to her bed and vomited. Ryuk, who was standing nearby, winced. He'd seen people throw up before, and knew

it wasn't plesant for anyone involved. Tracey looked even more worried than before as Scout clutched her stomach

"I don't feel good..." she said.

"Come on sweetie..." Tracey said, "I'll get the car started...Mike!" she called, "help your sister, we're taking her to

the hospital."

Tracey hurried out the door as Mike came in, he grabbed a blanket from the foot of her bed, wrapping it around her

as he picked her up. Ryuk was honestly getting a little worried now as he followed them out of the house, phasing

through the wall and hovering as they all piled into the car and drove towards the hospital.

000000ooooo000000

The doctor took Scouts temprature, listening to her heart and lungs, taking her blood pressure, and checking the dialation

of her eyes.

Ryuk watched a few feet away, Scout barely acknowledged him, she hadn't said one word to him since earlier when

she'd written in the Death Note. The doctor took a sample of blood and stood,"I'll be right back," he said. Scout grunted

and leaned against the wall, her face reddish. when the doctor was gone, Ryuk strode over to her

"Scout?" he asked. Scout turned her head in his direction hazily

"Ryuk...?"

She reached out, taking his hand. she shivered, "So cool..."

Impulsively, she stood, shakily taking a step towards him, she wapped her arms aound him, pressing her fever heated skin

against his body.

"Uh...Scout...?" Ryuk asked, the urge to phase and make her release him strong. Scout leaned against him, "It's too warm..."

she protested, "you're cool... it helps with the heat..."

Ryuk believed her. He could feel the heat from her body seeping into his own. Her cheeks lost some of that red color as she

pressed her face into his midsection. Ryuk heard footsteps. he phased out of her grip, making her lose her balance and fall

backwards onto the bed in a sitting position just before the doctor came back in.

000000ooooo000000

"Alright, Scout," the doctor said, "We've got your results, come, let's take you to a recovery room and get you somewhere

more comfortable..."

Scout nodded, climbing into the wheel chair the doctor provided, the heat returning to her face. Ryuk followed behind, the

heat from Scouts body still lingering inside him.

* * *

Tracey and Mike sat next to the bed Scout was laying on, now asleep, looking up at the doctor.

"Well, Doctor Lector?" Tracey asked, "what's wrong with her? Does she have a stomach virus? The measles? Please don't

tell me it's the Swine Flu

The doctor shook his head, "No, ma'am, not the Swine Flu. But she does have the flu. has she been exposed to any cold

temperatures for an extended period of time?"

"Not that I know of..." Tracey said, wringing her hands worriedly.

Mike shook his head, "maybe she caught it from school..."

The doctor nodded, "perhaps. these things do tend to spread around...She'll have to stay here for the night, so we can

moniter her and give her some antibiotics."

Tracey nodded, "Of course...Mike, could you...?"

"I'll drive home and lock up," he said standing, taking the car keys from her and heading out the door.

Dr. Lector also stood, "I'll leave you now," he said, "A nurse will be by shortly to hook up an IV for her medicine."

Tracey nodded. She reached out and took her daughter hand,"My poor baby..." she whispered, squeezing her hand

softly. Ryuk watched the mother from his spot at the foot of the bed.

"Heh...guess this really IS my fault..." he muttered, "Scouts gonna kill me once she recovers..."


	33. Investigator interuptions

Matsuda laid on his back in his bed. His new daughter laying on his chest.

"So small..." Matsuda said to himself as he stroked her head delicatly, "She's so small..."

Sayu lay beside him on their bed, smiling as she watched him and their daughter. She'd been born two days ago;

just after the others had left for America

"I know..." Sayu said sliding over to cuddle her husband as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, "It's amazing,

isn't it Touta...?"

"I can't believe we made something so...beautiful and so TINY...!" he said again. Sayu laughed,

"She won't be tiny for long Touta...babies grow fast."

"I know, but just look at her!"

"Shhh..."she chided gently, "She's sleeping..."

"Sorry," he said, looking at the little girl sleeping on his chest, tiny fingers curled in the fabric of his shirt. She had

a thick head of hair much like his, and Sayu's nose. She also had his late father-in-law, chief Yagami's eyes. She

lay, breathing softly, her head over her father heart.

"Our little Makoto..." Matsuda sighed dreamily, tracing the shell of the baby's ear with his finger tip.

"Makoto Akane Matsuda..." Sayu said kissing her husbands cheek, "she's perfect."

"You're perfect," Matsuda said turning his head towards hers.

Sayu opened her mouth to reply just as the phone rang. She sat up and reached over, picking up the reciever.

"Hello?.....oh..."her face darkened slightly as she sighed resignatedly, "It's for you, love..."

000000ooooo000000

Matsuda sat up, cradling Makoto in the crook of his arm as he took the phone and held it to his ear.

"Hello?"

"_Matsuda, it's Mogi. Sorry to call so la-, wait, it's still daytime in Japan- well, anyway, Me and the others have _

_compiled the data from our investigations so far, we're sending it to you to see if you can spot anything we, or_

_L, missed. It should arrive on your computer soon_."

"Thanks, Mogi..." he said, "though he was less than enthused.

"_You sound upset, something wrong?"_

"No, I was just spending time with Makoto and Sayu...I'll get right on it."

"_Oh, Hey, congratulations on the baby, Matsuda," Mogi said, "send us pictures, I bet that she's as __ugly as you_."

Matsuda cracked a small smile, "she gets her looks from Sayu, so you'd lose."

"_Oh well. Talk to you later."_

Matsuda clicked the off button, hanging up and putting the phone down, "That was Mogi. He and the others

are sending me some data look at," he said turning to Sayu.

She nodded, " I understand..."she said reaching out and taking the baby from him, "You have to go now..."

Matsuda wrapped his arms around her, " Hey, it's just some files, won't take but an hour or two, then I can

come home and get back to worshipping my goddess of a wife and my angel of a baby."

Sayu giggled a little, "I wouldn't say Goddess..."

"I would," he said kissing her cheek as he slipped on his jacket and headed out the door.

"I love you, Touta," Sayu said as he turned to close it.

"I love you too, Sayu."

* * *

Johnny sat at his computer, scrolling down a list of names of criminals as he did his homework. Rekab watched

his muti-tasking human with amusment

"well, you're working hard arn't you? Killing criminals and doing Algebra at the same time.

"I'd rather just do the criminals, but I need Algebra to pass high school."

"Heh, I don't envy you. Homework, who needs it?"

"Damn strait, Rek," Johnny said, using his nick name for the Shinigami, "But I have another reason I'm doing both

too."

"Oh?"

"I noticed today that a man was watching me...Even in his car."

"what'd the guy look like?"

"Well, he was asian..."

"Did he have brownish hair, kinda puffy? And wearing a good shirt with a tie?" Rekab asked, glancing out the window

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Cause I think he across the street in the building next to ours, I can see him in the window."


	34. conversations

Johnny calmly stood and walked over to the window, his heart beating wildly in his chest like a caged animal.

He looked over into the building just across the street.

"Damn..." he muttered, seeing the familiar, mysterious man, who was sitting in a room with 2 other men.

"What're you gonna do?" Rekab asked.

Johnny calmly opened his window and looked out, as if looking for something, then shrugged. He shut the

window and pulled the blinds. For good measure, he also shut the curtains. He turned and heaved a sigh

"Well, from now on, I'm going to have to be even more careful...as a precaution...I'm not sure if that man is

with the cops, but if he is..."

"You could kill him. If I made the shinigami eye trade with you, you could see his name and write it down.

Then he'd be out of your way."

"No. If he's not a cop, then I've killed an innocent person and Then I'd be just like the scum I kill...And even

if he is, him dying after a day of following me? That'd be suspicious, don't you think?"

"Heh...good point..." Rekab said.

"Oh, and about those Shinigami eyes, Rekab, what are the benefits again?"

"You get 40/20 vision, and you gain the ability to see peoples names and life spans. Except other Death Note

holders, their life spans are hidden. and the cost is exactly one half of your own life span."

Johnny nodded, remembering the last time he was offered _The Eyes_. He had turned it down. The idea of giving

up half of his life just for better vision and the ability to kill people wasn't exactly his idea of something smart.

However...

"Let me ask you something...If I got sick of _The Eyes_, could I give them back?"

"Give them back?"

"Like a return policy at the store. You give back the item, the other person returns the money."

"I don't think- well...actualy, I've never thought about that..." Rekab said, sitting cross legged on Johnny's bed,

looking as if he was seriously deep in thought.

"No one's ever asked that question before?"

Rekab shook his head, "not to my knowledge. and Justin made me read the S_crolls_ twice."

"Who's Justin?"

"Another Shinigmai. He's not important right now..." Rekab said, "I don't think anyone's ever tried it..."

Johnny suddenly smiled

"Rekab, how would you like to try a little experiment... he said grabbing his Death Note and heading for the

livingroom.

"Why in the living room?"

"_**America's Most Wanted**_ is about to come on..."

* * *

Scout opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was Ryuk's face hovering over her.

"Hey, Scout."

Scout just looked at him, her brow furrowed slightly

"Hey ugly."

"Ouch, that's cold," Ryuk said, pulling back, and crossing his arms "And here I was feeling sorry for you."

"Don't go out of your way..." Scout said, sitting up, "You're the reason I'm in here anyway, you grim reaper

wannbe."

Ryuk said nothing, but he gave a creepy grin, "At least you're awake now. You being unconcious is so boring."

"Good, I think I might fall back asleep, just to spite you," Scout said.

"I could write your name down," Ryuk reminded her.

"Then you wouldn't be able to be entertained," Scout reminded HIM.

Ryuk opened his mouth to retort but Scout suddenly covered her mouth, looking queezy, "Ugh...man, I feel like I ate

a bad burrito..."

"You've got the Flu," Ryuk commented. Scout groaned

"I knew hanging around with a death god was trouble..."

Ryuk gave a raspy laugh. Scout scowled at him.

"No apples for a week"

Ryuk stoped laughing immediatly, "What?! but- I- come on, SCOUT....!" The Death God whined. Scout smiled in a satisfied

way and curled back up against the hospital bed's pillows, letting herself drift off again.


	35. Kira Returns

Two days of medicine and sleep later, Scout was allowed to go home. Ryuk followed behind her mom's car

as best he could. He was currently twisted up like a pretzel, and wasfloating behind, making noises of agony

that made Scout smirk as they finally reached her driveway.

"Serves you right," She said as soon as her mother went inside.

"Scout, come on, please," Ryuk all but begged, "I can't go too long without apples...I'm going through withdrawal

symptoms for The Old Man's sake!"

Scout gave Ryuk a smug look, "Well I was vomiting for three day's strait, with the Flu. Surly you can deal with five

more no-apple days."

"That's not fair!"

"You took me to the Shinigami Realm and got me sick."

"But five more whole days, come on, don't be cruel!" Ryuk whined, "Apples to me are like cigarettes and Alcohol are

to other humans."

"Well, there's a surprise..." Scout said rolling her eyes, "I knew you were addicted to apples..."

"Scout, please ONE apple!" Ryuk pleaded

Scout entered the kitchen and poured a glass of apple juice, "I said no apples and I meant it. But you can have this."

Ryuk opened his mouth and let her pour the juice in, since his hands were literally tied. He gulped down the juice with

a gurgling noise and slowly untwisted his limbs. He shuddered as his body returned to normal.

"Not nearly as good as a real apple..." he muttered, taking the glass from her and finishing it off, "but it takes the edge

off..."

"Think of it as a nicotine patch," Scout said, "Now you have no excuse to pretzel-out on me."

Ryuk just followed Scout up to her bedroom as she looked under her pillow, "Where's my Death Note?" she asked.

"I've got it," Ryuk said holding it out to her, "So your mom and Brother wouldn't find it."

Scout took them from him, "How thoughtful..." she said sarcastically.

Ryuk watched her place the pink book-clover over the Death Note and place it under her pillow. She laid down, stretching

"Mmm...good to be back in my own bed..." she sighed. She reached over the edge and turned on the radio, switching

the channels.

_'And then he said, 'that's not a gorilla, that's my-'_

_' welcome back to the JCZ all blues all the time..-'_

_'Kira has returned!'_

000000ooooo000000

Scout's eyes popped open as she froze. Ryuk also froze, turning to the radio.

"What station is that?"

Scout looked at the radio Dial "44.5 WRDM...it's an American station..."She said.

"_Over the past 3 months, over 300 total crimanals have been killed here in America. The number rises every day, and millions _

_of Americans, when polled, if they believed it was Kira, nearly 78 percent of them said yes. 30 percent said they were undecided and_

_the remaining percentage claimed 'No, I don't think it's Kira.' "_

000000ooooo000000

Scout's eyes widened. as she heard this. Ryuk looked at her with a raised eyebrow

"What's the matter? you havn't killed anywhere NEAR that many people, so it's not you."

Scout turned to him, "that's the problem!" she said, "If it's not me they're talking about, then that means there's somene else

out there with a Death Note! There's another Kira!"

"Ohh," Ryuk said chuckling, "this should be interesting..."

* * *

Johnny listened to the radio in his room, his face deep in concentration. Rekab sat next to him, a bowl of popcorn in his lap as he

crunched on them

"Well Johnny, you're Kira now. It's official, whether you call yourself that or not."

"Well, let them Think I'm Kira...As lon as the message get's across that Criminals will be punished once more..."

Rekab ate a handful of popcorn and "Hmm'd"

"So, I bet now things'll get crazy, huh? the cops'll go nuts. Especially the guy that's been following you."

Johnny shrugged, "Probably. But I'll be ready for him..."


	36. How To Find Kira

Aizawa swore as the broadcast filled the apartment

"Damn it all! now that it's public that Kira's back, this investigation will get that much more difficult!

Mogi nodded. Ide looked over at them

"We have to continue the investigation as planned. this is just a drawback. So a billion people start

worshipping Kira again, it's not like that's going to-"

"_On the contrary, Mr. Ide, this does indeed put us in a tight position...."_

Everyone turned to the computer, where the letter 'L' appeared on the screen.

"_If supporters of Kira resume their previous activities, they could hinder the investigation by withholding_

_information that could be useful to us, or at least silence those who would work against Kira...This has _

_happened before..."_

Ide rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah...wishful thinking I guess..."

Aizawa approached the Monitor, "L, what are we going to do? This is a problem."

"_We're going to resume what we've been doing or the past few days...continue to monitor your chosen target,_

_and send the tapes to Matsuda."_

"Alright..."

"_ And one more thing...keep your eyes open..."_

000000ooooo000000

The image on the screen disappeared, revealing the blank desktop screen with the files within.

"What do you suppose he meant by that?" Mogi asked

Aizawa shrugged, "Who knows? Let's get back to work reviewing those tapes."

* * *

Scout paced in her room, "Oh crap...this is bad, this is very bad!"

Ryuk watched her from his seat on the bed, "what's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that there's someone out there with a Death Note who's using it to kill hundreds of people!

that's NOT a good thing, even if they are criminals!"

Ryuk opened his mouth to remind her she killed people too, but decided against it.

Scout continued, "I can't believe this! Ryuk, we have to find this guy and convince him to get rid of his

Death Note!"

"How we gonna do that?"

"I-! I.....don't know..." Scout admitting, sinking onto the bed next to Ryuk, "I don't suppose you'd be nice for

once and find out for me?"

" I could..."

"But you won't" she finished.

"Nope."

"Bastard."

"Potty mouth," Ryuk said, laughing.

Scout groaned and laid back on the bed, her legs dangling over the side, "I hate my life..."

"I could take it off your hands for you."

"I don't hate it THAT much," Scout said, punching him in the side, her fist going right through him as always.

"You could go to America and track him down"

"Uh, huge flaw with that idea," how am I suppose to get there?"

"A plane's always good."

"with what money?"

"Ever heard of frequent flier miles?"

"Don't get cute Ryuk...Even if I had enough money, mom would never letme go to America, by myself, just

to find somebody I don't even know, with no hope of finding because YOU won't tell me who Kira is."

"That's easy. You're Kira. Sort of."

"NO. I'M. NOT," she said, putting emphasis behind each word.

"Well then, I guess your screwed," Ryuk said.

Scout rolled over and sighed into the sheets, "No more Apple Juice..."

"What?!"


	37. Masuda's discovery

Scout lay on her bed, only half-listwning to Ryuk whine about his with drawal symptoms. She turned

over onto her side.

"Ryuk, shut the hell up...I'm trying to think...."

"Scout, you-"

"I have an idea...Maybe I could say I'm going to go visit my cousin, Jamie who lives in San Francisco..."

"Jamie...isn't she the one who's emancipated?" Ryuk asked.

"Yeah, but she has room mates," Scout said, "mostly guys. I can't imagine what their bathroom looks

like..."

Ryuk shrugged, "Sounds good to me, so, how you gonna ask your mom?"

"Um...I could tell her I wantto visit her because...I havn't seen her in a while and I miss her."

"That's lame."

"Do you ever want to see your apples again?" Scout asked. Ryuk twitched

"On the other hand, I like that idea, it's brilliant. You're a genious!"

"Don't be a brown nose..."

* * *

Matsuda yawned as he watched one of the tapes the others had sent him through the computer in a file.

His eyelids drooped as he tried to focus on his task. Sayu came into his study, a blanket over her shoulder.

"Touta, you should get some rest, it's 3:00 A.M..."

Matsuda turned and looked at her sleepily, "I know...I'll come to bed soon, after I'm done with this tape...."

Sayu walked over to him and erapped the blanket around him, "Here, love..."

Matsuda reached up and stroked her face gently,"Thanks Sayu...What would I do without you?"

"Work yourself to death," his wife said leaning down and placing a kiss on his lips. The sound of a baby crying

reached her ears.

"I know that cry. Makoto's hungry. How much longer are you going to be, Touta?"

"Just a few more minutes I think," Matsuda said, "I should be done by the time your done nursing Makoto."

Sayu nodded and headed for the nusery, unbuttoning her blouse, "Mommy's comming, Maki," she said, using

her pet name for their daughter.

Matsuda turned back to the video, It was one of Aizawa's, following Johnathon Morgue. He'd just come out of a

theatre with some freind.

000000ooooo000000

_"Heh, that was cool," Johnny said, "New moon rocked. What'd you think, David?"_

_"Meh...it was more like a chick flick..."_

_"You kidding? that movie was Kick ass and you know it."_

_David rolled his eyes, "Whatever...The fighting scenes were pretty cool, I guess."_

_"You've got no taste in movies."_

_"Hey, I'm just saying, the book was better. But they did a good job with the movie...It's better than the first one."_

_"Definitely" Johnny nodded in agreement._

000000ooooo000000

Just normal teenage stuff... Matsuda thought to himself as the boys eventualy spilt up and Johnny turned a corner.

Suddenly, Matsuda spotted something.

"What was that?" he asked no one, rewinding the footage. As soon as Johnny turned the corner, he tilted his head

up to one side, looking up. His lips moved, though Matsuda couldn't catch what he said. He zoomed in on his face and

cleared up the image. He played the video again, trying to read his lips. He still couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Still, that's important!" he said, "He could've been talking to a Shinigami! I have to call Aizawa right away!"

* * *

**_Sorry for shortness, but I'm busy today!_**

**_hope u love cliffy's, lolol evily_**


	38. Bugged

Near sat, one finger toying with a lock of his hair. Matsuda had just sent in a video clip

from the tapes they'ed emailed him. zoomed in and cleared up. The tilted head and

muttering lips...

_What do you think, L? _Came the typed question from Matsuda, who was currently on

a type of instant messaging network.

Near extended his free hand out towards the keyboard and typed one handed, the other

still in his hair.

**_We have our main suspect._** He typed, then added, **_Well done Matsuda._**

There was silence on the other end for a while before Matsuda sent a two word message.

_Thank you._

Near ended the session and turned to his other monitor, where Aizawa and the others were

waiting for his instructions. He cleared his throat a little, "Gentlemen. There's now a 79

percent chance that 'Johnny' Morgue is Kira. I want monitoring of the other suspects to

continue, but our main focus now is Morgue. Aizawa."

"Yes, L?"

"I want you to increase your surveillance of Johnathon Morgue. Place cameras in his home

and bedroom when you are positive no one is home. speakers too. I want to hear and

see everything that goes on in that apartment."

Aizawa's mouth formed a thin line. He disliked the idea, but it was a direct order.

"Yeah. I understand. I'll get on it..."

"Good."

* * *

Johnny walked in the door, shutting it behind him, since Tanya was spending the night at

a freinds house and had gone home with her"Mom? You home?"

Silence.

"Heh, guess she's not here, huh?" Rekab asked.

Johnny said nothing. He shrugged his jacket off and placed it on the coat rack. He headed

towards his room and opened the door. He dropped his bag on the floor and whent over

to his Rat's cage. "Hey boy, do you-"

he frowned.

"Oh, I guess you already have food. Mom must've fed you..."

He reached into his desk and pulled out an I-pod, clicking it on and going through the songs.

000000ooooo000000

Rekab tilted his head,"something wrong, Johnny?"

Johnny didn't answer, he put his head phones in his ears and left his bedroom. He followed,

watching as Johnny made himself a sandwich and sat at the table. Eating it.

"Johnny?"

Again he got no answer. Rewkab wasn't use to being ignored when no one was around.

"Hello?" he asked, waving a hand in front of his face.

No response.

Rekab also sat, looking concerned

"Did I do someting wrong?"

Johnny finished his sandwich and scribbled a note on a peice of paper by the fridge. He then

grabbed his Jacket and exited the apartment. Rekab followed Johnny, keeping a few feet

behind him. Trying to figure out what he could have done to anger his human into not speaking to

him.

"Have I said something to upset you? "

000000ooooo000000

Johnny waited until he was sure no one was watching before turning to the Shinigami Rekab. He

gave him a quick hug which was over nearly before it was felt.

"You didn't do anything wrong. I think someone, probably that asian guy, bugged my house."

"What?"

"Mom never feeds my rat. I've always had to do it. And I forgot to this morning. Someone came into

my room and fed my rat. and I know I've been being followed, so it stands to reason they came into

my room to search for nothing was moved. So I can only assume they've bugged my

room and possibly the apartment. When we go back, I want you to check."

Rekab was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure, no problem."

Johnny nodded and patted the shinigami on the shoulder, "Come on, we'll catch a movie. You can have

my popcorn."


	39. Plans

Johnny and Rekab returned to the apartment roughly three hours later, they'd seen the _Avatar _

movie. It was even better than New Moon. Johnny looked up at Rekab

"Well, how'd you like the movie?"

"It was cool. I wish I hadn't ran out of popcorn..."

Johnny almost laughed, "There's no surprise..."

"Johnny, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"Did we just....go on a date?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What?"Johnny asked,"**NO**. No offense but I'd never date you. I mean don't get me wrong, I love

you man, but I think of you as my brother."

"Brother?" Rekab repeated.

"Yes. Brother," Johhny said, "You're the somewhat older brother I never had."

Rekab took in this assessment in silence. He was glad he was only a brother. It would be weird if

Johnny...liked him...Not to mention life threatening to a Shinigami.

Brothers was just fine with him.

"You remember the plan?" Johnny asked.

"Yeah. When we get to the apartment, I look for the camera's and microphones and tell you how

many there are and where they are hidden."

"Right. And then?"

"Then I keep monitoring them until they are gone, whenever that may be."

Johnny nodded, "Good. and remember, until this is over, no popcorn inside the apartment."

Rekab let out a loud groan, "No popcorn?! Geez, point those guys out to me I'll kill them myself!"

* * *

"Don't worry, this won't hurt...Very much..."

"What do you mean by tha-ahhhhh!" the man yelped as Scouts mother injected his gums with

the Novocaine.

"Sorry," she said, "It'll all go numb in a minute, Bob. Scout, could you hand me my drill and maybe

my scrapers?"

"Which one? the Hook or the Pick?"

"Hmmm....better bring both."

The man in the chair, Bob, moaned as Scout went to get the tools.

"So, you gonna ask her?" Ryuk asked, standing behind Scout by a few feet.

Scout ignored him, "Here, mom." She placed the tools next to her mother. Bob glanced over at her

"Are you even a real assistant?" he asked.

"I do this as a favor to my mom, since dad's in the hospital. Call it an internship, since this is

what I wanna do once I graduate from college."

"Oh ahsheee.." Bob muttered incoherently as his mouth turned numb, "Yora booood girlllb..."

"Time for the drill," Tracey said turning it on wih a smile on her face.

Ib cannmpt fhill manyching..."Bob said. Scout paid rapt attention as her mother worked. Ryuk tapped

her shoulder with one long thin finger, "Hey, ask her now."

Scout shook her head no subtly.

"Why not?"

Scout nodded towards the patient

"She's always busy. Just ask"

Scout let out an aggrivated sigh she turned to her mother

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?" Tracey asked as she continued her work without skipping a beat, "What is it?"

"I was um...wondering if I could go to America and visit cousin Jamie."

"You mean by yourself? Why?"

"I havn't seen her in forever and besides I um...I kind of need to get away for a while... It's

been so crazy lately..."

"Yes, I know...I'm not sure Scout..."

"PLease mom? I'll be fine with Jamie."

"Well...."

"Please?"

"Oh...alright..."Tracey said, "but only because you're extremely responsible and wouldn't do anything

foolish..."

Scout felt her face turn red

"Um...yeah...thanks mom."


	40. One Step Ahead The Hard Way

There were a total of 87 camera's scattered throughout the apartment. Along with 67 microphones.

Armed with the knowledge of where they were, Johnnny felt prepared.

_'let them try to catch me...I'm ready for you...' _He thought to himself. He turned to Rekab, who was

sitting in a tree. He'd come to the park so he could discuss his plan to his Shinigami outside the

range of camera's and microphones.

" Rekab, I need you to do something you're not gonna like."

"What is it?" the Shinigami asked his insect like wings flicking lazily.

"I'm gonna need you to erase Tanya's memory of you, in case she's questioned, or wonders where

you are. If she mentions you, it's over."

000000ooooo000000

Rekab made a face, "Make her forget me?" he asked, his mouth forming a thin line.

"I know you care about her, Rekab, but it's just until the camera's are gone. After that, I'll let her

touch my Death Note and her memories will be returned. You can do it right?"

"I can do it...." Rekab said, "But first you have to give up ownership of the Death Note. That

way everything goes back to the way it was and only you will be able to see me."

"Alright," Johnny said.

He closed his eyes, holding out the Death Note, "I hereby surrender ownership of this this Death Note."

He dropped it to the ground.

Rekab put a finger to his forehead as he dropped the Death Note. Johnny went limp, falling to the ground.

"It is done."

* * *

Tanya, who was in the middle of playing hide and seek, gasped as her body stiffened just as she

was about to call out her freind, falling to the carpeted floor.

Her freind cried out.

"Tanya? TANYA?!"

Tanya's eyes fluttered open.

"I feel funny..."

"Are you sick?" her freind asked with cocern.

"No...I feel like I forgot something..."

"Was it something important?"

"I...I don't know..."

* * *

Rekab waited for Johnny to become concious. Johnny sat up, rubbing the back of his head, "What

happened? Did I hit my head?" he loked around, "Why am I at the park?"

He spotted the Death Note.

"What's this?"

He reached forward and picked it up. Rekab winced at the Scream Johnny made as his memories

were forced back into his mind. It was over in a matter of moments. Johnny, panting, stood, brushing

himself off.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"I think so."

"Good..." let's get back to the apartment...it's nearly sunset. Mom'll be worried."

* * *

**_yes, i know, shortest chappie ever._**

**_im really busy today_**

**_hope u like suspence!_**


	41. It's complicated

Scout sat at the dinner table with Tracey and Mike, eating her food quietly. Tracey decided to break

the silence

"Scout? Where's your friend? you know, Ryuk?"

"Oh, yeah that gothy guy who was good at video games an obsessed with apples? Yeah, sis,

where's he been? I've been dying for a rematch," Mike said.

Scout swallowed her food quickly, "Oh, um... Ryuk, he's...around...." she muttered.

Ryuk laughed and poked Scout's back.

"Yeah, I'm right around HERE!"

Scout ignored him and continued eatting. Tracey grinned, "You now, I liked that boy. His teeth were

perfect. Absolutly perfect."

"There's more to life than teeth, mom," Scout said, " Ryuk seems nice, but he's rude, annoying,

never does anything useful..."

" That's a little harsh," Ryuk said. Scout continued, "He never shuts up, he's addicted to apples,

he's just a total and complete jerk."

Tracey giggled, "I think you like him."

Scout gave her a look.

Tracey laughed again, "well, maybe not..."

"Darn strait."

000000ooooo000000

Scout climbed into bed, stretching, "Two more weeks and I'm out of school," she muttered, "Then I

can go to America and find that other Death Note holder."

"What're you going to do if you find him, anyway?" Ryuk asked.

"I dunno...get rid of his Death Note somehow."

"What if he kills you first?"

"I prefer not to think about that..." Scout said, reaching to turn off her side table lamp, "I wonder how

dad's doing..."

" Oh, that reminds me," Ryu said, "I just thought of something...Don't turn off the lamp yet."

He floated towards the callender on the other side of the room.

"Let's see, it's been about two weeks since Scout was in the hospital..." He did some math in his

head. If Scouts dad had 28 days left 2 weeks ago, that was 28 minus 14 was 14. Two more weeks."

"wow...talk about rotten timing..."

"What? what's rotten timing?" Scout asked.

"Uh...nothing...you can turn the lamp off now," he said.

"Um...okay..." Scout said, clicking off the lamp, "Shinigami sure are weird...Or maybe it's just a guy

thing...Or a guy-shinigami thing..."

She thought about the Shinigami realm. She'd only seen a few female Shinigami. She hadn't seen

any children Shinigami...

"Hey Ryuk?"

"What?"

"How come there arn't any shinigami children?"

Ryuk looked at her, his eyes glowing red in the dark, "Why do you wanna know?"

"Just curious."

"Well, the answer is simple. Shinigami arn't allowed to have children. We can't even have sexual

relationships with other Shinigami, or humans."

"Then how are Shinigami born?"

"They're not. Well, they sort of are, but it's complicated. The Shinigsami ing is the only one

who can create a shinigami."

"Oh...So how are Shinigami's made?"

"You ask too many questions. If you're gonna keep bugging me, I want an apple."

"Fine," Scout said, turning over, "Keep your secrets, see if I care!" She pulled her blanket over

her head, "Stupid Shinigami...never tells me anything...."

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "Whatever...Human girls are weird..."

"Get a life."

"Well that's Ironic, don't you think?"

"Shut up Ryuk."


	42. Watched

Johnny walked in through the door, hanging his coat upon the wall. "Mom? You home?"

"Johnny? Is that you?" came Johanna's voice as she exited the kitchen, "Where've you been? I

was starting to get a little worried."

"Sorry, I took a walk in the park."

"Why?" Johanna asked, raising an eyebrow. Johnny shrugged, "I dunno. Felt like catching a

girl rat for Charlie?" he suggested, smirking. Johanna rolled her eyes smiling, "Ha-ha mister...

wash your hands, dinner will be ready soon."

"Whatcha makin'?"

"Food."

"Oh goody, just what I was hopin' for" Johnny said sarcasticaly. Johanna laughed, "It's home

made Pizza. Now shoo."

Rekab watched as Johnny headed for the bathroom.

"Pizza, huh?" I hope Johnny can sneak me out a piece..."

* * *

Two days had passed. Near, as usual, paid lose attention as he viewed the footage he was

recieving from the hidden camera's and microphones.

Rester stood by his side, also watching the moniters, "Near, you've been watching this for two

days. Criminals have continued ding and he doesn't seem to be doiing anything suspicious.

Why keep watching him?"

"Because, Mr. Rester, thst's just it. he DOESN'T do anything wrong. He's too innocent. That

maes him even more suspicious. It's like he knows he's being watched and is trying to make

sure he doesn't do anything that might be a giveaway."

"So you suspect him because he's _too_ innocent?"

"Exactly."

"Oh...Well...you're the master detective."

Near turned around and faced the televisions again.

* * *

Johnny sat with his sister as they watched a movie. She was curled up in his lap, snuggled

against his chest.

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, Tanya?"

"can I ask you something...?"

"What is it?"

" Timmy Buyington in my class says Kira is killing bad people...Who's Kira?"

"Oh, Well, Kira was a... he was a...well, some people called him a murderer. A lot of people

think he's god."

"Is he?"

"No."

"Then how come mommy talks about him so much?"

"Because she thinks he is."

"How come?"

"Because before you were born, Kira killed almost all the bad people in the world. Murderers,

rapists, abusive alcoholics..."

"criminals?"

"Yep."

"But...killing people is bad, right?"

"Well-"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Oh! That's the popcorn. I'll be right back," Tanya said, hopping off his lap.

000000ooooo000000

Rekab looked at Johnny, "well, that could've been potentialy akward."

Johnny said nothing.

"I think I'll go feed Charlie while Tanya's getting the popcorn..."

* * *

**_yes i know i'm late updating and this chapter is very short, but my dog nearly died_**

**_so give me some slack this is all i could muster_**


	43. Shinigami

Ryuk made sure Scout was sound asleep as he phased through the ceiling, perching on the

roof of the house.

"I hope the old man doesn't mind me coming back just for a bit..."

He leapt into the air, flapping his wings and gaining altitude.

* * *

Zellogi looked down at the human world, studying as two of them talked to each other, trying

to decide which of them to kill.

" Hello 'Llogi."

Zellogi glanced up, seeing Ryuk.

"Well, if it isn't the pet."

"Can you tell who the Shinigami who lives in the Human Realm besides me is?"

Why do you wanna know?"

"Just curious..."

Zellogi shrugged, "It's Rekab."

"Rekab?" Ryuk said wth a raised eyebrow, "He's a kid."

"He's doing just fine on his own. He has a good connection with his human. They compliment

each other in personality and mannerisms. Far better than you and that girl."

"Her name is Scout."

"Whatever."

"What's his humans name?"

"Are you gonna kill him?"

"you know that's against the rules."

"Since when has THAT stopped you?" Zellogi asked, adding" It's Johnathon Morgue."

Ryuk pushed the older Shinigami aside and crouched in front of the portal. He focused on the

name, watching intently as the image within swirled, revealing the sleeping human and his

Shinigami.

"Gotcha."

* * *

Rekab watched Johnny sleep, examining his Death Note. He himself hadn't written any names

in a while. His life span was getting low. He knew he was suppose to stay with Johnny, or at

least within the same general vicinity. He couldn't write names of nearby people, that could

make things unnecasarrily difficult for Johnny.

And the more difficult things were for Johnny, the harder time he himself would have.

What a dillema he'd gotten himself into.

"What's up, Rekab?"

Rekab whipped around, "Ryuk?! What the hell are you doing here?"

000000ooooo000000

The Shinigami looked around the room, "Nice digs. Kinda reminds me of Light's old room."

"Answer my question," Rekab said.

"Do I need a reason? Maybe I just felt like visiting," Ryuk said, "You got any apples?"

"No, and even if I did, there's cameras everywhere in here. I can't even haveany popcorn..."

he added with a frown.

"Ah...Popcorn's your affinity? That's interesting..."

"Not everyone likes fruit, Ryuk."

"But most Shinigami do. Besides Sidoh, you're the only other Shinigami who's affinty is

Junk food."

Rekab frowned again, "Shouldn't you be with your human?"

"She's asleep, she'll never miss me. So I hear your human is Kira now?"

"Yup. though he refuses to think of himself as a god. he;s not as arrogant as your last

human."

"Light is infamous and you know it. A true Shinigami at heart. Even if it was difficult living

with him at times. He may've been a genious, but he was a horrible room mate."

"Luckily, I don't have that problem. Johnny considers me a brother of sorts. We get along

just fine."

"lucky you," Ryuk said sarcastically, "Well, good luck wth the Kira thing...oh and by the way,

see you later..." he said, chuckling a bit as he walked through the wall and disapeared.


	44. Life Spans

Aizawa followed Johnny down the street as he walked home from school, holding Tanya's hand

as he escorted her home.

"Well, he seems to care for his sister..." he muttered.

000000ooooo000000

Johnny looked down at Tanya, "So how was class today, Sis?" he asked.

"It was okay. We colored some pictures."

"Really?"

"UH-huh. And then we did some math"

"Ah. That's good."

"Johnny, What do you think mom's making for dinner?"

"I Think she said Meatloaf."

"Yay! I love meatloaf!" the five year old said happily.

"Me too," Johnny added, smiling at his sisters enthusiasm.

Rekab was drifting behind them, his lavender skin was paler than normal. He looked almost

sick. Johnny looked at him from the corner of his eye.

_'Hmmm....'_

000000ooooo000000

"Well...this is going nowhere...."

* * *

Scout sat next to her father's bedside. The Hospital had allowed them to visit today and Scout

was alone with her father.

" So, Dad, how are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Muffin Head," James said, sitting up slightly. The bruises on his arms had faded,

so Scout took this as a sign of confirmation.

"I'm feeling better all the time," he added, "I think the new drug they're giving me is working."

Scout seemed to brighten, "You think so?"

"Yeah. I really do. My white cell count is up by 15 percent, apparently that's good' James said,

adding with a sigh, "AID's is not fun kiddo, lemme tell you that...Chemo, blood transfusions...

but hey, at least I get free pizza."

"Dad--"

"I know, you hate it when I joke around. But if this treatment works, I might have a

complete recovery. The drug they gave me is suppose to be a test for an actual CURE."

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk Watched Scout from his place by the door, giving Scout some time with her dad.

After all, she didn't have too much time left. His numbers were getting closer to their

death date. James only had 10 days left. He knew it was against the rules, but he wanted

to tell Scout to make the most of the time he had left. Ryuk knew Scout was going to be

heartbroken when he died. She worshipped her father, he was her role model.

When he died...

Ryuk shook his head. He'd never wanted to help Light like this...and he'd known Light

for years. Why the hell was he goin all soft over some girl?

Probably because she and Light were complete opposites. Which was the only reason

he'd won the bet with Kasde. Scout and Light wern't even in the same class. Light had

been a determined, ruthless genious. Scout was a whiney, average teenage girl.

And yet that made things so much more complicated...

A nurse entered the room, walking right through him, "James, it's time for your blood

test's."

Scout looked down at her father, "Guess I should leave, huh dad?"

"Don't worry about me, Muffin. I'll see you tomarrow, if I'm allowed, which shouldn't be

too hard, if I keep up


	45. Matsuda's Investigation

Johnny kept glaning at Rekab throughout dinner. He was worried. Rekab actually

looked sick! This wasn't normal... not even by Johnny's standards, which had

changed drastically ever since he'd picked up the Death Note. There had to be a

way he could find out without getting caught by the damn cameras!

He looked over at his mother, whom Reab was standing behind.

"Hey, Mom, are feeling okay? You look a little pale."

Johanna looked over at him, "Do I?"

Rekab noticed the way that Johnny's eyes glinted, "Are you taling to me?"

Johnny kept his gazr on his mother,"Yes. You look a little pale. Is your job

stressing you out?"

"Well, I suppose a little...My boss has been working me hard the past few days.

It's a bit overwhelming..."

Rekab was hesitant, but admitted, "I havn't killed anybody in a while...my life

span's a little low..."

Johnny swallowed the food he'd been chewing tostall for a response.

"Then you should do something about it mom."

"Like what? I can't very well tell my boss what I will and won't do...I could get fired."

Rekab glanced at Johnny's mother and turned back to Johnny

"Same answer, only replace that first part with 'leaving my Death Note holder' and

getting fired with 'getting punished' ."

Johny frowned

"I don't care what your boss says, mom. If your job is wearing you out, you should

say something. Maybe he'll slack up and give you some space.**_ I_** would."

Rekab gazed at Johnny, "Are you...giving me permission to leave for little while?"

Johanna nodded to herself, "You may be right. Maybe I should talk to my boss."

"The sooner the better," Johnny agreed, finishing the last of his food.

"Mom, Do you mind if I walk around a bit? I need some fresh air..."

000000ooooo000000

Rekab followed Johnny down the hall and out of the building. The moment they were

out of any possible hearing range or sight, Johnny whipped around, looking cross.

"Rekab, why didn't you tell me you needed to kill people?!"

"I'm not suppose to leave you. The rules-"

"Screw the rules! Now you go find some potential rapists or murderers and kill them

or I'll go talk to the stupid Shinigami King about how utterly unfair his stupid rules are

myself!"

Rekab glance up nervously for a second and looked down at Johnny

"You shouldn't say things like things like that..."

"What's he gonna do, kill me? That's your job when the time comes, remember? Now

Shoo!"

Rekab did not question the look in Johnny's eyes. He meant it. Rekab flapped his wings

and took off, Death Note in hand.

* * *

Matsuda sat in Misa's living room, LJ sat next to his aunt Sayu, examining his baby cousin

with delight and curiosity. Misa sipped some tea,

"So, Matsuda! What's with the suprise visit? Not that I'm not DELIGHTED to see my little

neice Makoto!" she added with a fond look in Sayu's direction.

"I actually came to ask you about something important."

"Oh?"

"I was wondering...you knew Light better than anyone...May I ask you some questions?"

Sayu stiffened, "Touta..."

"I promise, it's nothing important," Matsuda reassured her before turning back to Misa.

"Well, I can try," Misa said.

"What would Light have done if someone had set up camera's and microphines in his home,

but he really wanted to do something."

"Like before, when Ryuzaki thought he was Kira?"

"Uh....sure," Matsuda said, "Kinda."

"Well...." Misa started, thinking hard, " Light would probably have looked for any blind spots

first, or just leave whenever he needed to do something...And if I knew Light, he'd probably

use an excuse to leave the house before he left to throw the person watching him off his

trail."

Matsuda wasn't suprised Misa remembered so much about Light. He hadn't really liked her

at first, but over the years, as the investigation had went on, Light had eventualy come to

lover almost as much as Misa loved him. Sure they'd fought a few times, and Light wasn't

overly expressive of his love in public, they had been close. Misa knew everything about

Light, including how he thought about things. Aizawa had told him this new suspect was

a lot like Light. If Matsuda could figure out what LIGHT would do, maybe it would help

the investiation keep one step ahead of suspect number one: Johnny Morgue!

000000ooooo000000

Makoto made grunting, whining sounds in her throat

Sayu turned to Matsuda, "Touta...Makoto's fussy again..."

Matsuda turned around, scooping Makoto into his arms, "No problem, love..." he said,

grinning "Now, Makoto Matsuda, don't be so fussy..." he said gently, nuzzling her nose

with his own. She giggled as Matsuda tickled her tummy, squirming.

"Who's daddy's little angel?" Matsuda cooed, bouncing her her up and down a little as

Makoto laughed her baby laugh.

000000ooooo000000

Matsuda smiled. Even if he didn't get to be involved

with the investigation the same way the others were, he was doing just fi-

he sniffed, his thoughts interupted.

"Smells like that applesauce went right through you," he said, pinching his nose.

Sayu giggled, "I'll get the diaper bag."


	46. Ryuk's Secret is Out

**_warning! this chapter may contain excess amounts of sadness and depression._**

* * *

Scout bit her lip as she concentrated on her test, there were still 8 equations that

needed to be done.

"Only three minutes left," Ryuk chimed in.

"Not helping..." Scout muttered as she began to panic. She hurriedly scanned the

math equations, answering as quickly as possible.

"That's wrong," Ryuk said just as Scout finished.

"Which one?"

**_BUZZ!_**

"Time's up, class. please put your pencils down and turn your papers face down,

please."

Scout groaned, hating her teachers egg timer for going off right when she DIDN'T

need it to. She sighed and did as her teacher instructed.

"I'm so dead..."

Ryuk chuckled, "Not yet."

"What?!"

"Just kidding," Ryuk said, laughing some more as Scouts paper was taken by the

teacher.

"That's not funny."

"Yes it is."

"Twisted Shinigami..."

000000ooooo000000

Scout walked home as Ryuk floated along beside her. He cleared his throat looking

off in a different direction "Hey, Scout, are you going to visit your dad today?"

"Maybe...why?"

"Um...He's funny. I like him."

Scout raised an eyebrow, "Ryuk, are you hiding something from me?"

Ryuk looked away nervously, " Hiding? Uh...What makes you think that?"

Scout stopped and turned to face him

"You ARE hiding something from me! And it's about my dad!" Scout yelled loudly.

Ryuk looked around panicked and grabbed her, taking off into the air. Granting her

temporary invisability. she struggled against his grip until they reached her house.

they phased through the walls into her room. Ryuk released her.

"What the hell was THAT about?!" Scout demanded.

"You were making a scene."

Scout glowered at him, "Tell me what you know about my father RIGHT NOW!"

"I can't! It's against the rules!"

"Then I'll guess. It's about my dad, and since you brought it up, it's..." her eyes

darkened a bit "...It's....about him dying, right?"

Ryuk shifted uncomforatably. "Maybe...."

Scout sat down on the edge of her bed, "His death...it's going to be soon?"

"Perhaps."

"The next three months?"

"cold."

"Four months?"

"Colder."

Scout winced

"Two months?"

" cold"

"one month?"

"warmer."

"three weeks?" Scout asked, her eyes widening.

"Warmer."

"Two weeks?"

"warmer..."

"one week?"

"warmer..." Ryuk said, wincing a bit at the look in her eyes.

"Today?"

"No,"Ryuk said hurriedly.

"Tomarrow?"

Ryuk was silent.

Scout stared up at him for a moment, her eyes wide and watery.

"He's...gonna die....tomarrow...?"

"Yeah."

"Oh..."

Ryuk didn't have time to react as Scout suddenly fainted, crumpling to the floor.

* * *

**_I warned you, didn't I?_**


	47. Tackling a Problem

Rekab checked the cameras again. he'd been keeping count. He sighed and turned

to Johnny.

"They're still here. All of them. Speakers too. They're not letting up."

Johnny frowned to himself as he stared at his math paper.

"This...problem is aggrivating..."

"I know....it's wierd...I miss talking to Tanya SOOO much...She made the best

popcorn...and she drew me pictures... and curled up in my lap and told me she

loved me..."

Johnny frowned again. Rekab was getting a bit depressed at not being able to

interact with Tanya.

"Maybe the best way to solve this problem is to tackle it head on..."

* * *

Ryuk placed scouts unconcious body on her bed. There would be trouble if Scout's

mother or brother walked in here while she was unconcious on the floor.

"Oh boy...I knew she'd act like that..." he muttered to himself, "What do I do now?

She's bound to ask if I could help him...And I can't do that."

He paced back and forth before the bed, in no rush to rouse her.

"Damn it...I wish Light was here. He'd know how to deal with emotional girls..."

Scout beganto come around. Ryuk looked around desperately.

000000ooooo000000

Scout sat up, groaning, her head throbbing painfully along with her heart. Her spirit

felt like it had been Her father was going to die tomarrow. And there was nothing

she could do about it.

But Ryuk...

"Ryuk!" she called, "show yourself!"

She heard nothing. She narrowed her eyes.

"Ryuk, I know the rules! You have to stay near me at all times! now where are you!?"

she spotted something on the floor in front of th closet. A black feather.

She yanked the door open, revealing the Shinigami.

"Uh...hi?"

Scout gave a yell as she yanked him out of the closet, pushing him onto her bed

and jumping on top of him, stadling his narrow waist. Fire in her eyes. Ryuk winced

at the fury in her eyes.

"Scout, I-"

"NO! **_I_** GET TO TALK NOW! You've been nothing but a pain in the butt since the

day I picked up that Death Note! I've ammused you, I've fed you apples, I even

went to your stupid realm and got SICK! Now the person I care about more than

anyone else is going to _die_! **DO SOMETHING!"**

Ryuk was hesitant to move, given their current position.

"I can't. if a Shinigami saves the life of a human, they themselves will die. And

even if that wasn't the case, I can't cure him of cancer."

"He doesn't HAVE cancer! He has AIDS!"

"Oh. Then why are you always talking about chemo?"

"That's just what dad calls it. It's just the Chemicals they inject him with to see

if they can fix his white cell count."

"Oh."

"Now are you gonna help him or not?!"

"I already told you, I can't get directly involved in saving a persons life."

"Then do it **IN-**directly!" she said, clutching the front of his shirt desperately.

"There's got to be SOMETHING you can do. I'll do anything! ANYTHING!"

Her face was mere inches from his on, tears threatening to spill any moment. With

her hips stradling his own, her face flushed and her breathing slightly labored, so

vulnerable... and yet...

Only one thought passed his mind on something, if anything, he could possibly want.

The question was...should he?


	48. Small Things

Ryuk wasn't the smartest of Shinigami, but even he wasn't THAT stupid. Besides...

sex with Scout would just be weird.

"Uh, Scout, you're kind of sitting on my crotch..."

Scout immediately scrambled to the side, her face turning redder than it already was. She still looked

down at Ryuk, her eyes pleading with him.

Ryuk phased out of her grip and stood a few feet away.

"Look Scout, not for nuthin, but I can't help you. I just can't."

"But what if it doesn't have anything to do with the AID's? What if it's something else? Couldn't I do

anything about it?"

"What if it meant killing someone?" Ryuk asked, "Would you sacrifice someone else's life for your

father's?"

Scout opened her mouth to resond, but found she couldn't. Her instincts told her "yes" she would.

Her morals told her "no" she wouldn't.

"The best thing I can do is be there for him when he dies..." she realized.

The ONLY thing she could do.

She looked up at Ryuk, her eyes meeting his.

"If you can't save him..." she said, "Then can you do one thing for me?" she asked.

"What is it?"

* * *

Rekab excitedly greeted Johnny as he opened the aparement door, as he had arrived 10 minutes

earlier, as flying was faster.

"They're gone!" he said "THEY'RE GONE!"

"Wha-"

"The camera's are GONE!" Rekab said shaking him by the shoulders excitedly, "I checked. The

microphones, the camera's, everything, it's all gone!"

Johnny glanced around, "Are you sure? ALL of them?"

"I checked every single one and all the places that MIGHT have have a camera in it. It's all gone."

Johnny let out a sigh of relief.

"About time..."

"So..." Rekab said expectantly. Johnny gave a small smirk.

"Yes Rekab, you may give Tanya back her memories and eat popcorn again."

"Alright!!!" Rekab said, his insectoid wings flapping furiously in a buzzing noise, lifting him off

the floor.

Johnny chuckled to himself, seeing how excited the Shinigami was. Rekab had been so serious

when he'd first arrived. Kind of formal. And now he was acting...almost like a human being. He

was certainly more open with his emotions. He was about to respond to his Shinigami when a

knock came from the door. He turned and opened it.

"Hello, may I help you?" he said automatically as he opened the door.

"Yes as a matter of fact you can."

Johnny stiffened slightly as he saw the asian man who had been following him standing in the

doorway with two other men.

000000ooooo000000

"Hello," Aizawa said, "We're with the police force."

"May we have a word with you?" Ide said.

Johnny cleared his throat, his expression taking on an innocent expression of confused concern.

"Oh, of course officers. Please come in."


	49. Transfer Student

**_Hey guys, I know my chappies have been short lately but hey, cut me some slack, I'm busy_**

**_with college homework. I'm gonna try to make them longer starting with this chapter. _**

**_Once again I'm REALLY sorry for the shortness of my previous chapies._**

* * *

Rekab stiffened as the policemen walked into the room. Johnny looked cool and calm, yet curiously

cautious. The way a perfectly innocent person WOULD look.

"May I ask what this is about?" he asked, ushering them over to the couch to take a seat, "Can I

get you anything? Water? Tea?"

"No thank you," Aizawa said, taking a seat. We would like to ask you some questions."

"Oh? About what?" Johnny asked, taking a seat opposite the officers.

"You are aware of the recent deaths in the media, yes?"

"You mean the new Kira killings?" Johnny asked with a slight frown, "I have. Why?"

Aizawa's mouth was a line, remembering Near's orders.

* * *

**_FLASHBACK_**

* * *

"_Aizawa. I want you to confront Johnny Morgue today." _came his voice from the monitor, where Near

sat, legs curled underneath him as he hurled some darts at a board unseen to the camera's current

angle. Aizawa's eyes widened, "Confront him? Do you have proof that he's Kira? DO I arrest him?"

"_No, nothing like that, Mr. Aizawa. I want you and your men to go and ask him three questions. You _

_are not allowed to tell him he is a suspect. He'd expect that."_

Aizawa nodded, "What are the questions?"

"_Inform him first that you are with the police force. Do not be specific on your affliation. The questions_

_you are to ask him are whether or not he is a supporter of Kira, if he had ever heard of a shinigami,_

_and if he was at the bar when it burned down."_

"Why those questions?"

"_Don't forget the questions, Mr. Aizawa," _Near stated as the screen went black.

* * *

_**End of flashback**_

* * *

Aizawa narrowed his eyes a bit.

"We have a survey we'd like to ask you."

"A survey? Alright then," Johnny said aloud, thinking to himself, "_They're trying to make me think_

_they're not here to question me specificaly...I just have to play along..._"

"Want me to kill them?" Rekab asked, "I'll do it. It won't expand your life, so it's not against the

rules."

Johnny glanced at him, his look saying "_No."_

Rekab turned away, floating over to the table and sitting on it's surface, looking annoyed, "If

these guys make me go without popcorn again, I'm killing them..."

* * *

Johnny took his seat in math class, as he always did. The officers had only asked him three

questions. When they'd asked him if he knew what a shinigami was, he'd replied yes...

Ichigo from Bleach was a Shinigami, wasn't he? That's what he was called in the show.

He smirked to himself as the other students began to settle into their desks. The teacher tapped

his ruler against his desk to gain their attention.

"Hey guys, before we start todays lesson, I'd like to introduce a new student that just transfered

in yesterday."

A boy with white hair that complimented his fair skin walked in, a toy robot under one arm

as he walked in from the hallway and stood before the class, twisting a strand of hair in

his fingers. His dark panda-eyes glanced at the classrooom, his gaze boring into Johnny's as

they locked eyes. Johnny frowned.

Rekab made a face "There's something about that kid..."

0000000ooooo000000

The teacher looked at the pale boy "Would you care to introduce yourself?"

"My name is Nate River."

There was no point in hiding his real name, Near thought to himself as he continued to stare at

Johnny. If he was Kira, he'd suspect it was a fake name and ignore it. And if he had The Eyes,

he'd know it was a fake name anyway. So there would be no point.


	50. Extension

Johnny eyed Near for a moment before looking away. rummaging though his backpack.

"Rekab, there's somehing about that kid... I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot of

him..."

Rekab looked uneasily at Nate River. This human had a strange feel to him. Sort of

like...he was waiting for something. And he kept staring at Johnny like he was trying

to peer** into **him rather than **at** him. He kinda reminded him of someone...

000000ooooo000000

"Okay, Nate," the teacher said, "take a seat anywhere you want."

"Thank You," he said shortly, walking over to the seat next to Johnny, pulling his legs

up to his chest, sitting in a crouching position. Many of the other student whispered

amoungst themselves.

Johnny said nothing, he merely sat, waiting for the teacher to begin his lesson.

* * *

Scout walked into her fathers room. He lay on the bed, sleeping. Scout moved to his side,

sitting in the small, uncomfortable chair.

Scout reached out and took his hand. James's eyelids flickered and opened. He smiled upon

seeing his daughter.

"Hey there, Muffin head..."

"Hi, Dad," Scout said, trying to keep up a brave face. Ryuk had hinted, since he couldn't

directly tell her, or so he claimed, when his time of death was, that it would be soon. Very

soon.

"How're you doing?"

"I'm fine...You?"

"I feel great. Two hundred Loonys."

Scout gave a small smile, frowning inwardly in thought. He looked so healthy...How could

he be about to die? What could kill him when he was doing so well?

"So, does the hospital food still suck?"

"Yup. On the plus side, my white cell count is up to nearly 48 percent. That's almost half."

Scout squeezed his hand, "That's great...that's so great..." she said smiling, tears leaking

down her face without her notice.

"Aw, don't cry. I'm doing great. And if I can overcome AID's, just think of what it'll mean for

the medical world of science. Heck, you're old man might be something other than a dentist...

He'll be a dentist who overcame AID's. That would make your mom nuts, wouldn't it?"

Scout smiled to herself, "Yeah, it would. All those reporters would drive her insane. She'd be

like: _'Ahh I'm on TV! Scout, hurry, pass out out business cards, their teeth are horrible_!' "

Both Scout and James laughed at this.

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk watched them frm the doorway, giving Scout some private time with her father in his

last moments. He didn't understand it anymore than Scout. He didn't look like he was about

to die...

A nurse walked in carrying a soringe needle

"James, it's time for your medicine..." she said, smiling.

Ryuk glanced at James. His life span was almost up. Just two minutes left.

He glanced at the nurse. well, if he was gonna witness Scout's spirit get crushed, he might

as well have some fun.

He extended his fhand and flicked the soringe from her hand softly, making it look lik she'd

droped it. It shattered on the floor.

"Oh, Damn," the nurse swore,cleaning up the mess, "I'm such a clutz, I'll be right back with

a new shot."

she scurried from the room, Ryuk chuckled.

"That was funny..." he muttered, turning towards Scout and her father, "Now for the water-

WHAT THE HELL?!"

James lifespan was rapidly increasing, years upon years were added, finally comming to a

stop. But how was that possible?! What had changed?

Scout, hearing her Shinigami exclaiming loudly, turned.

"SCOUT! Bathroom now!" the shinigami said, phasing through the door quickly.

"Dad I'll be right back, I have to pee," Scout said hurrying towards the room, shutting the

door behind her.

"Ryuk what's-"

"You're father life span increased!"

"What?!" Scout shrieked, thankful for the sound proof walls.

"I don't know what happened, one minute he had..well...one minute, and then his lifespan

increased by 50 years!"

"Wh- but--I mean--HOW?! Did you do something?"

"I don't know, I can;t thnk of anything. The only thing I did was knock the soringe out of

the nurses hand for laughs..."

Scout and Ryuks eyes widened at once.

The soringe...

"Ryuk...maybe...maybe that shot was what was going to kill him!" maybe there was

something wrong with the medicine, or maybe air was trapped inside."

"I don't know..." Ryuk said, pacng back and forth, looking a bit scared, "I increased a

humans life span! That's a level 1 punishment! Oh, shit, I'm gonna die...! I'm gonna die!"

Scout reached up and shook Ryuk to calm him

"Ryuk! calm down! Nothings happened yet. Maybe since it was an accident, it doesn't

count against you."

Ryuk looked around fearfully, expecting to turn to Shinigami sand in seconds. However

nothing happened as the seconds ticked by. Then a minute. Then two minutes.

Nothing was happening.

Ryuk straitened a little, "Nothing happened..."

Scout flushed the toilet for appearances and opened the door her dad was still sitting

up, haaving turned on the TV to watch some Hockey.

"Yeah, smash him up good! hit that puck in his teeth so me and my wife can charge

him for dentures!"

Scout and Ryuk exchanged looks.

"Ryuk, for once in my life, I'm glad you're such an annoying asshole..." she said, barely

audible.

Ryuk laughed nervously, still half expecting punishment to fall upon him.

"Yeah...me too...."


	51. Bully

As the bell rang, signaling the end of school, Nate river calmly placed his books in his

back pack and strode out the door without so much as glancing in Johnnys direction.

Rekab looked down at his human as he walked into the hall, heading for his locker.

"Hey Johnny?"

"What?" he asked, turning the combination.

"The freaky albino kid creeped me out. Nate River? There's something about him that

reminds me of someone, but I don't know who. He's so familiar..."

Johnny opened his mouth to reply, but was interupted as he felt a hand clamp onto

his shoulder.

"Hey, Morgue"

Johnny turned around, faced with a boy just slightly taller than himself. He had blonde

hair and green eyes, with a smirking, playful grin on his face. Johnny sighed

"What do you want, George?" he asked.

"'What do you want, George?' Is that any way to treat an old friend?"

Johnny rolled his eyes, "I'm not giving you the answers to the math homework. And

please don't touch me."

"Why whatcha gonna do about it?" he asked, poking his chest and flicking his nose.

Johnny glared at him, "Move. I have to pick up my sister from school."

"She can wait. Now, let's talk math... You see I have a game comming up and if my

grades don't do the same, I can't play. You wouldn't want our team to lose would

you?"

A crowd of people had started to surround them. Johnny scowled at the football

player "I'm NOT giving you the answers,"he spat.

"Lemme put it this way to you..." the football player said, gripping the front of Johnny's

shirt and pushing him against the locker, making small spots of light flash behind

Johnny's eyelids. "You give me some 'help' with my homework, or me and my team

mates give you some help in rearranging your face."

"Go ahead, brain dead, I'm not telling you the answers, Johnny said, a defiant look

on his face.

"Fine then," Geoge said, "I'll enjoy this almost as much as football." He reared back

his fist to strike, only to have a pale hand grip his wrist.

"I don't think so."

000000ooooo000000

Johnny glanced behind his would be-attacker. Nate River stood there, expressionless,

his robot tucked safly in his backpack while one hand played with a lock of hair, his

other tightly gripping the football players wrist.

"Hey, back off new kid, this doesn't concern you," George said, giving Near one

chance to back down. Near just stood there.

"Perhaps if you put as much hard work into studying as you do in intimidation, you'd

be a strait 'A' student. If you're not willing to work for your grades, you don't deserve

to be on the football team." His words were spoken in an mostly emotionless voice.

they were as cool and calculating as those black eyes of his. He glanced at Johnny

"Go," he said simply.

Johny was a little stunned, but grabbed his stuff and edged away. George lunged

for him.

"Hey-"

Near twisted George's arm, pinning it to his back, twisting his wrist at an odd angle

his movement swift and fluid.

"Are you aware that breaking a wrist is the second worst injury a football player can

have other than breaking his knee or back?" Near asked.

George was silent, indicating he indeed knew this.

"Then I suggest you avoid doing activities that might cause such apossible injury from

happening." With that, Near released his grip, picking up his back pack and walking,

slouched slightly, down the hall, many of the students watching him. Johnny gawked

at him for a minute. Near stopped, glancing at him again.

"Um...Thank you for-"

"Don't you have a sister to pick up?" Near asked, interupting as he continued walking.

Johnny gawked at him a second, watching him walk off, before shaking his head and

exiting the school as well, to walk his sister home.

* * *

**_I'm stopping this chapter at 777 words cuz that's a lucky number! review_**!


	52. Back to Normal

Now that her fathers life was saved, having increased to let him live to a ripe old age of 86,

a weight seemed to lift from Scouts shoulders. When the nurse finaly came back, her face

somewhat pale

"I just found out when I went to get a new soringe...that medicine was not only expired, it

was mislabeled! If I'dgiven you the injection..." she turned paler than she already had.

"Thank god I dropped it..."

"Thank you, Ryuk," Scout said under her breath.

Ryuk just stood there, too nervous to feel happy for Scout.

"Yeah...whatever..."

Scout and Ryuk left as the nurse gave James his injection. She patted his arm, "Don't worry

about it Ryuk. Hey, I think I know how to cheer you up."

"How."

"Does the phrase " all you can eat apples" mean anythng to you?"

Ryuk looked at her excitedly " You mean it?!"

"As many as I can buy...for 50 bucks. Which believe me is a lot."

"All you can eat apples...Even Light never did that for me!" Ryuk said, "Ahhh! I can't wait to

taste all those apples!"

* * *

"Rekab!"Tanya cried happily as her memories were restored. She ran to him, jumping into

his arms and hugging him tightly. Rekab hugged her back, happily. Johnny watched as his

little sister embraced the shinigami. He smiled. It was little moments like this that made

him forget the struggle he faced each day being Kira.

"Rekab, I don't know why my memories went away but I don't want that to happen ever

again! Oh! Do you want Popcorn?"

"YES!!!" Rekab said excitedly, "Popcorn popcorn popcorn popcorn popcorn!"

Tanya giggled as he buzzed his insectiod wings enthusiastically. "I'll go make the popcorn."

She jumped down and headed for the kitchen.

Johnny smiled at Rekab, "Better?"

"Much."

"What'd u miss more? Her attention, or her popcorn?"

Rekab flinched, "Don't make me choose...that's just cruel..."

Johnny laughed, "Well, haven't you heard? I'm Kira. I'm a heartless monster."

Rekab just pouted.

Johnny took on a more serious expression, "Speaking of which, I need to get back to work.

So many criminals, so little time...I have to make up for the time I couldn't write down

names. I need you to keep Tanya entertained while I'm working."

Rekab nodded, "No problem."

Johnny nodded once and headed for his room, pulling his Death Note from his back pack

and clicking open a pen as the door shut behind him with a click.

* * *

Ryuk grunted gutteraly, "Come on Scout, move faster..."

"I'm going as fast as I can, Ryuk! It's so hard!"

"It's not that bad,"

"It's too much, my hands are starting to hurt from pumping so much!"

"Come on you've almost got it..."

"Just wait a minute, I'm almost done!"

"Hurry up, or I'm gonna explode!"

Scout looked up from her bicycle tire, which had gone flat. She glared at him

"You try filling up a tire with an air pump, apple head" She said sourly, cracking her fingers.

Ryuk rolled his eyes, "You big baby..."

"You're lucky you saved my dad's life, or I'd slug you!"

"Don't you have a suitcase to pack? Your flight to America is tomarrow."

"Yes, and you're not helping," Scout said as she finaly capped the tire, now fully inflated.

she mounted her bike and continued peddling towards the store, so she could get the

apples she'd promised Ryuk. Thus his eagerness for her to fill up the bike tires.

"I called Jamie last night. She says she can't host me right now. Something about big

spiders at her place. But she gave me the name of her old apartment so I coul rent it

while I'm in America."

"That's nice of her."

"Yeah. She's my mom's neice. Her dad is my mom;s brother, James."

"Your mom has a brother named James...and she married a guy named James?"

"Yeah, so? It's a common name."

"I wonder if that makes things weird in the bedroom..."

"Oh, you hush, pervert!" Scout said punching his side as she pulled up in the store

parking lot. Ryuk laughed his insane laughter and flew ahead, cackling at his scowling

human.


	53. Suprise

Johnny glanced at the clock again. Class was almost over. He looked over at Near, who was

sitting in his seat, looking deep in thought. Johnny sighed and tapped his desk impatiently.

Finally the bell rang.

"About time," he said as he put his things back in his back pack. Near was already half out

door.

"Hey, Nate," he called, hurrying over to where the pale boy stood.

"Near turned to look at him, "Yes?"

"I wanted to thank you for what you did yesterday," he said.

"I believe you thanked me yesterday," he said turning to walk away.

"I wanted to ask if you'd want to hang out," Johnny said, following.

"Don't you have a sister-"

"Mom's picking her up today. She's off work."

Near continued walking, "And what would you consider 'hanging out'?"

"I dunno. Arcade? Movie? Ping Pong? Dartz?"

Near stoped, "Dartz?"

"Yeah. You like Dartz?"

"I dabble," Near said. An obvious understatment.

"Wanna play a few rounds? I know a place."

Near thought about it, "Alright. What harm can it do?"

"Great."

* * *

Scout sat in her seat on the plane, talking on the phone that was built into the plane seat.

"Yeah mom. We're almost there...Uh-huh...yeah mom...yes...I love you too. Give Dad and

Mike my love. Okay. Bye."

" Are we there yet?"

Scout frowned as she looked beside her. Ryuk was sitting next to her.

"Ryuk, I thought I told you to stay in the the luggage deck."

"It's boring in there. I ate all my apples."

"Already?!"

"Well, I have a few left, but I wanna save 'em for the new apartment."

"Ryuk, The apartment is just for the summmer. When I find the other Kira, and convince him

to give up the Notebook, We're going back home."

"Spoil sport."

"Just go sit in the Cargo hold."

"No."

"Then sit on the plane and look out for anything bad."

"Like what?"

"I dunno. Anything!"

"Fine, no need to get all huffy about it..." Ryuk said, phasing though the floor.

Scout sighed, closing her eyes. A stewardess, who'd been standing nearby, tapped her

shoulder, "Miss, are you alright? You were talking to yourself..."

Scout opened her eyes, trying to look sleepy, "Oh...yeah...I'm a little...blah...I took some

sleeping pills earlier, they must've kicked in..."

The woman made an "Ahhh...." expression and nodded, "Well, we'll be arriving at the airport

in an hour."

"Thank you ma'am."

* * *

Near stared at the dart board, his darts in his hands. Johnny was gathering his off the board.

"Three in the third rim 3 on the 2nd. Pretty good huh?"

"I suppose."

Near raised his arm and flicked his wrists the dart landed dead center.

"whoa..."

Near raised the second dart and flug it.

Thwack!

Center

Thwack!

Center

Thwack!

Center

Thwack!

Center

Johnny jaw dropped. All five dartz were in the center of the dart board.

"Whoa...how did you do that?"

"It's all in the wrists."

"You're incredible. You fight off Jocks three times your size, you play dartz like a pro. Is

there anything else you do?"

"I fight crime."

Johnny laughed, "Oh, who are you, Batman?"

"Accualy I'm L. The one in charge of the Kira investigation."

"Ha, that's funny..."

"I transfered to your school so I can monitor you because you're the main suspect in

the Kira investigation under the guise of a student. I''ve been monitoring you for the past

few weeks with camera's and microphones, plus I've had you followed.

Johnny stared at him for a moment, his brain numb. He forced a laugh, "Heh, nice joke.

Following me round...you're such a kidder, Nate."


	54. Arrival

"Nate is who?!" Rekab exclaimed when Johnny came home, pale, and had told him what he'd

learned.

"Nate is L" Johnny repeated, "The detective who's making it his life's mission to bring down

Kira. And I'm the main suspect."

"Damn! I should have remembered this! He called himself Near the last time...I can't believe I

forgot! this is bad, this is very bad" Rekab said pacing.

"Tell me something I don't know," Johnny said, rubbing his temples. Rekab growled

"I won't let this happen, I'll kill him with my Death Note!" Rekab said whiping out his pen and

his Death Note. Johnny grabbed his wrist, "No! If you kill him that'll only make matters worse..."

he said, "They'll think it was me and besides you could get in trouble for helping me if it ends

up increasing my life span."

Rekab was very tempted to simply phase through Johnny's grip an write down those two little

words that would kill Near in an instant. Johnny seemed to sense his thoughts and tightened

his grip "Think about Tanya, Rekab. If you die, who do you think it'll affect her? You;re practically

our brother Rekab, THINK about this!"

Rekab grit his teeth.

Tanya...

It was with great effort that he put his Death Note back into the pouch he kept it in on his belt,

along with his pen. Johnny gave a sigh of relief.

"Alright..."Rekab said, sighing heavily, "What are we going to do?"

"Don't worry about that, I have a plan. but first, I need you to tell me everything you know about

all the other Kira's, the first L, and how Nate River, the current L, defeated Kira."

Rekab crossed his legs, flipping upside down and sitting on the ceiling, "Alright, but you might

wanna sit down, it's a LOOOONG story..."

* * *

Scout groaned as she plopped down on the couch. She and Ryuk had arrived in Sanfransisco

a few hours ago. She'd gotten directions from her cousin Jamie over the phone, and found

herself at El Tigre, her old apartment. The owner had kindly given her her old room, which

she'd supplied with new furniture in Jamie's absence for other possible boarders. Afterwards,

she'd gone to a nearby resturaunt called "Frans, where Jamie worked, and had eaten a bit

too much pizza, which she'd been tricked intoordering by the waiter. A cute boy about her

age named Seymour, who'd charmed her into ordering a large personal pizza which she'd

split with Ryuk.

Bad decision.

"Ugh...too much pizza..." she moaned, clutching her stomach, a bit overful.

"Hehe, I told you to let me have the last slice," Ryuk said.

"And let you win? Never," Scout proclaimed. He stomach let out a pained gurgle, making her

groan again "Ugh..."

"Looks Like I won anyway," he said laughing that insane cackle of his. Scout raised her fist

to punch him, but let it fall, "Oh, whatever...I need a nap..."

"It's your own fault you know," he said delightedly, "You let that waiter sweet talk you."

"Shut up..."

"Something about that kid gave me the creeps though. It was almost like he could sense

me. I swear he looked right at me."

"You're imagining things. No one can see you but me, anyone who touches my Death Note,

and other Shinigami.

"Demons can see me to, did I forget to mention that?"

"Demons? Like satan?"

"No, more like Inuyasha,"

"Oh, you mean Yokai."

"Yeah, something like that."

"Oh...that's cool....I guess..."

"You may as well go to sleep. you have work to do in the morning remember? If you're gonna

find that other Kira, you're gonna need your strength."

Scout heard none of what he said, however. She'd already fallen into a deepdreamless sleep,

breathing softly. Ryuk flew out the window. He knew exactly where the other Kira was. And

WHO he was. But he wasn't allowed to tell Scout that information. Not that he would've

anyway. It was much more fun to watch her struggle.

"Might as well see how Rekab is doing...I wonder if his human is awake this time..."


	55. Shinigami 2

"...And that's everything you need to know about the Original Kira, Light Yagami," Rekab said,

finishing up on the little 'history lesson' he was giving Johnny.

"Okay...I think I have agood idea of what to expect," he said after a long silent moment. "This

is going to be harder than I first thought..."

Rekab nodded," Don't worry, as long as I'm around-"

"Helloooooo!" came a familiar sing songy voice from the window.

000000ooooo000000

Rekab whipped around, Ryuk was sitting on the window sill, grinning like always.

"Nice human you got there. Kinda reminds me of Light."

Rekab scowled at him, "What are you doing here?

"Rekab,who are you talking to?" Johnny asked. Rekab glanced back at him, "Nobody."

"HEHEHE, liar..." Ryuk said, smirking. He walked over towards Johnny and pulled out his

Death Note, whacking him on the shoulder with it.

"Ow! Hey, why'd you- SHIT!" Johnny yelped seeing Ryuk's grinning face.

Ryuk cackled,"Hi."

"Who the hell are you?" Johnny asked, taking a step back towards Rekab. Ryuk grinned

"Name's Ryuk."

Johnny raised an eyebrow, "THE Ryuk?"

"Yeah," Rekab said, glaring at the older Shinigami with disapproval, "That's him. Now what

do you want?"

"Oh, nothing in particular. Shouldn't you be with your human?"

"Oh I am, she's here in San Francisco."

"There's another Kira?" Johnny asked, "And she's a girl?"

"Yeah. She found out about you over the news. YOU'RE getting to be quite famous, you

know."

"What's her name?"

"Can't tell you."

"...Is she cute?"

"Johnny," Rekab said, frowning, "This is hardly the time."

"Hey, it worked for Light Yagami."

"Heh, yeah, she's cute, but my girl isn't exactly Misa Amane," Ryuk said, " She's kind of a

prude. Plus she came down here to try to convince you to get rid of your Death Note."

"Umm....Why would I do that?"

"She thinks killing people is wrong."

"Hey, I'm just trying to make the world a better place."

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever. Hey, you got any apples?"

Rekab scowled, "No. Go away."

"What's wrong with YOU?" Ryuk asked, raising an eyebrow.

"We have our own problems without dealing with YOU," he said, crossing his arms. Ryuk

smirked,"Don't make me pull rank on you, little man."

Rekab pouted. Ryuk laughed. I assume 'L' is after you. Heh. we really shoud get our humans

together, Rekab. Two heads are better than one."

Rekab said nothing. "Well, I better scram," Ryuk said, "My human's gonna miss me if she

wakes up to go barf or something."

"Barf? What did you get her pregnant or something?" Johnny asked sarcastically.

"HA!" Ryuk said, scoffing," yeah right. She ate too much Pizza."

"Oh."

Ryuk dove out the windowand flew off, leaving a confused Johnny and a pouting Rekab

in the room. Charlie the rat just squeeked and chewed on some cuttle bone.

* * *

Scout woke up some time after 2:00 AM, needing very badly to go to the bathroom. She

looked around, noticing Ryuk hadn't said anything.

"Ryuk?"

She stood and looked around, squeezing her legs together in an attempt to stave off

the urges to run to the bathroom.

"Ryuk?"she looked around. Ryuk flew up to the window, phasing through it and landing

smoothly in fornt of her, "You rang?"

Scout sighed, "Just making sure you're still here...Where were you anyway?"

"Oh uh...nowhere...." he said.

Scout narrowed her eyes doubtfully, but waddled her way ro the bathroom, keeping her

legs clenched shut she shut the door behind her.

'If I find out he did something, I'll kill him..." she muttered to herself


	56. Second Kira?

Johnny closed the Death Note, his eyes droopy. It was nearly 3:00 AM.

"You should get some sleep," Rekab said, " Or else you on't be able to get up right."

Johnny sighed, 'I know. I'm going...I just keep thinking about that girl...Ryuk said the second

Kira was here in San Fran. She could help us, Rekab."

"Yeah she could. or not. Go to sleep."

"Fine, whatever, MOM." he said yawning as he flopped onto his bed, snoring within seconds.

Rekab rolled his eyes, "Humans..."

* * *

Matsuda sat on the park bench, watching L.J. swing. He was baby sitting his nephew while Misa

and Sayu went shopping. It was their special 'girl's day'. Sayu even took the baby, so they could

buy some clothes for her.

"Uncle Touta, watch me jump!" L.J. cried as he lept from the swing in mid air, flying forward. He

landed on his feet about 6 feet away. he beamed and ran over to his Uncle, "Did you see me?"

He asked. Matsuda grinned, "I sure did. Nice jump."

L.J. stood on his tip toes, whispering in Matsuda's ear, "Mommy says I'm not suppose to jump

though, she says I might get hurt."

Matsuda leaned down, "Then we won't tell mommy, will we?"

"Pinky Swear?"

Pinky Swear," Matsuda said.

L.J. nodded. Matsuda stood, stretching. His cell phone rang loudly, he picked it up, "Hello?"

_"Matsuda."_

"Oh, hey Aizawa."

It's Uncle Aizawa? Can I say Hi?" L.J. asked.

"Sure," Matsuda said, holding it up to his ear.

"Hi uncle Aizawa!"

_"Oh! L.J. Hi, how are you?"_

"Uncle Touta and me are at the park."

"_Cool. Can I talk to him now? It's important police business."_

"Okay," he gave the phone back to Matsuda, "here, Uncle Touta, he wants to talk to you."

000000ooooo000000

Matsuda took the phone from his nephew, "What is it?"

_"There's been some...developments in the case...How's it looking in Japan, what's the status_

_on criminals?"_

"Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?"

_"Bad news."_

"The new Kira is killing them."

"_And the good news?"_

" Crime went down by 67% the day it started. Hopefully, we can avoid more deaths if the fear

of Kira's wrath keeps them in check. It's almost spooky how fast crime dropped since the new

Kira appeared."

"_I know. How's Sayu"_

" She's fine. her and Misa-misa are out on a girl day with the baby."

_"That''s , hey, I gotta go. give L.J. a hug from me and the guys."_

"OK. Bye." He clicked off his cell phone and stuck it in his pocket.

* * *

Aizawa sighed, turning to Near, who was sitting nearby, playing with some toy soldiers.

"L, it's just like we feared. The killing have spread all the way to Japan now."

Near nodded, "I expected as much."

"What do we do?" Ide asked.

"Nothing."

"But we can't just sit here and-" Mogi started, but Near cut him off, "We have to be tactful

about this, gentlemen. Rester?' he asked, turning to the blonde man, "Call and tell Watari

to send us Document _**K **_in E-mail _**X**_. He knows what it means."

Rester nodded and pulled out his cellphone, dialing.

"As for the rest of you," Near said, lining up his troops in a neat line, "This case is about to

get a lot more complicated."

"Why?"

"Based from our knowledge from the first case, we may have reason to believe that there's

a second Kira suspect."

"WHAT?!"

"I've noticed that a few of these criminal deaths don't match up with the others. Much smaller

numbers at regular intervals every two weeks."

"If that's true..." Aizawa started, but trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

"Whether or not OUR Kira knows about the second Kira's existance is up for debate. All I know

is that we can't afford to slip up now. We'll simply wait for the second Kira to reveal him or

herself. WHen that happens, we may have to call Matsuda here."

"Matsuda? What can he poissibly do to-"

"All in good time, Mr. Aizawa. All in time..."

* * *

**_What's Near got up his sleeve?_**

**_why does his plan involve Matsuda?_**

**_And what use could Matsuda have if they find out about Scout?!_**

**_tune in next time!_**


	57. Discovery

Scout yawned, opening her eyes sleepily. The first thing she saw was Ryuk's ever-grinning

face

"Morning, Scout"

Scout sighed, "Ryuk, stop hovering over me with that ugly face of yours."

"My face isn't ugly."

"It is by human standards," she said, sitting up and stretching. Ryuk floated behind her as

she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Hey Scout, how many days left?"

Scout did some mental calculations, "Crud...it's day 13...I have to kill another person...Is

Charles Manson still alive?"

"I think Light Killed him."

"Oh. How about Edmund Kemper?

"Who?"

"I'll take that as a yes."

She concentrated on the face she'd had to memorize for her report she'd done last year,

and wrote his name.

_'Edmund Kemper. Accidental death. While working, he is..._she mused for a moment,_ "...Hit by_

_a run away car, pinning him to a tree and severing his body in half, __and __decapitating him."_

Ryuk winced playfully "Whoa-ho! Harsh! What'd this guy do?"

"Look it up," she said, "I don't wanna talk about it. It's too gross."

"Ah..." he said, " Scout, give me an apple."

She pointed towards the fridge, "I put some in the fridge when we first got here, help

yourself."

Ryuk floated over to the fridge to do just that. Scout picked up the phone to the room and

dialed. The phone rang for a minute before she heard the click of it being picked up.

_"Hello?"_

"Hi mom."

_"Scout? Hi, are you doing okay?"_

"Yeah, mom I'm fine. Just woke up."

_"Did you eat breakfast yet?"_

"Not yet."

_"Well, be sure to drink plenty of milk, and have a balanced meal."_

"I will, no problem there."

_"Good. Your brother already left for work."_

"How's dad?"

_"He's fine. He's really excited. In another month or two, he may be the first man to have_

_been cured of AIDs."_

"Yeah," Scout said, remembering her father and her joking about it the day Ryuk had

accidently saved his life and extended his lifespan in the process. "He'd have a field

day."

_"Well, I have to get to work now. No rest for a dentist, you know."_

"I know. Love you mom."

_"Love you too, sweetie."_

Scout hung up and headed for the bathroom. Time to shower, eat some breakfast, and

see if she could find the other Kira.

* * *

"Where is he?" Rekab muttered to himself, searchng from above. Johnny wasn't going

to rest until he found Ryuk and the other Kira. So that's what their plan was for today.

Johnny had **The Eyes**, to look for anyone without a life span above their head. The whole

'Return Policy thing was tricky, but it worked. Johnny could give and take the power at

his whim, something he found useful. Rekab got small tidbits of Johnny's life span, and

Johnny got the powers that come with Shinigami eyes.

"See anything yet?" he asked under his breath as Rekab flew down and landed beside

him. "Nothing yet, you'd think it'd be eastier to find a fellow Shinigami...

Jophnny shrugged, "Just keep searching. We'll find them sooner or la-oof!"

A girl walked by, accidently bumping into him

"Oops! sorry," she said.

"It's okay, accidents hap-"

he looked above her head. No life span. His eyes widened.

"Holy crap..."

"What?" she asked

"Scout Hemmings?"

Scout arched an eyebrow how did you-"

"I'm Johnny Morgue. We need to talk."


	58. Two Kiras

"YOU'RE K-mmm?!" Scout yelled, her voice muffled by Johnny's hand as he clamped it over her

mouth "Shh! Not so loud! Do you want me to get caught?"

Johnny had taken Scout to a small restaurant nearby,one with outside tables. Fortunately, no

one was there right now, except themselves and their Shinigami.

Naturally, Scout was furious when she found out Ryuk had known about him and where he

was the whole time, but soon found her attention focused elsewhere.

"So, how long have you had your Death Note?" Johnny asked.

"I don't know...a few months..." Scout said.

"How were you able to hide your killings from the police?"

"Because I only kill when I have to, every 13 days. And I always try to make it someone who

deserves to die. Like Bin Laden."

"Oh, that was you?"

"Yeah."

"You're good."

"Thanks. NO! Wait a minute, I'm suppose to be trying to persuade you to give up your Death

Note, not sitting here listening to you compliment me!"

Johnny gave a sigh, "You seem stressed. Do you want something to eat? Breakfast. On me."

Scout just nodded dumbly. Johnny called over the waitress Who was standing nearby with

some headphones in her ears, listening to an Ipod. Seeing him waving, she came over

"What can I get you?"

"Can I have 2 double cheese omelette's?"

"With peppers or without?"

"With."

"Gotcha. Anything else?"

Johnny looked over at Scout. , "Some toast and apple sauce would be nice..." she said.

Johnny smiled, "That too."

"Sure thing, Hon," the waitress said, heading inside the small nearby building.

"Now, what's this stuff about killing every 13 days?"

"It's the rule."

"What rule?"

"The thirteen day rule. You know, on the back cover?"

Johnny exchanged looked with Rekab.

"Uh...Scout, I don't know how to tell you this, but, that's a fake rule."

"WHAT?!"

"Yeah. It's not real," Rekab said,"that's a fake rule Light Yagami, the first Kira said throw off

the police."

"But- Ryuk said--I--RYUUUUUK!"

Ryuk turned and flew about 60 feet in the air, looking down as Scout yelled curses at him

yelling that she would do everything in her power to make sure he suffered painfuly and

slowly if he came within 5 feet of her.

She growled,pulling her hair, "I can't believe I- Oh! Damn it!"

Johnny reached over putting a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, calm down, it's not a big deal..."

"Not a big deal!? I KILLED people!"

"They were criminals, right? worst of the worst? They deserved to die. We're purging the

world of evil, one name at a time."

Scout opened her mouth to protest but the waitress came back with their food

"Here you go, kids."

"Thank you," Johnny said, passing Scout her plate. When the waitress left, Scout shook her

head, "I don't WANT to kill people. It's not right."

"Scout. I don't know if you've noticed, but so far the only gods we even know exist are

Shinigami, and they do it all the time. If THEY think we can do it, why worry about it?"

"Because it's murder," Scout said, taking a bite out of her omelet, "Just because you wanna

be a god doesn't mean-"

" I don't wanna be a god.," Johnny said, sounding annoyed, "Rekab is a god. I'm just a human

If I'm anything, I'd like to think of myself as an angel."

"Angel?"

"An Angel of Justice, smiting the wicked. Making the world a better place for my sister, Tanya

and all children to grow up in. Drunks, drug addicts, Thieves, rapists, pedophiles, they're all

evil. They don't deserve the precious gift of life."

"You're not the one who should make those decisions."

"Oh, yes I am. I've been exposed to that crap ever since my mother got married to my step

father. Excuse me, My LATE step father. That bastard was an abusive drunk who brought

his scum friends into our home. Filthy, unclean scum. I've been beaten, criticised, and a lot

of other stuff I don't wanna get into."

"But-"

"I'm going to keep doing this. The world NEEDS Kira," Johnny said, "It doesn't matter anyway.

Neither of us is gonna go to hell. Or heaven. There's nothing we have to worry about."

"Or look forward to."

"Oh, there's something to look forward to..." Rekab said.

"What's that mean?" Scout asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean, Rekab?" Jaohnny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh...I can't tell you....It's a rule...."

" It Figures..." Scout said with a sigh, continuing with her meak even though she didnt feel much

like eating anymore. Johnny just shrugged, "You hear that a lot too huh?"

"Yup."

"Shinigami have too many rules."

Scout just nodded and began eating her applesauce.


	59. Explination and Punishment

Ryuk slowly entered the apartment, looking around. He'd been hiding from Scout for almost

the entire day. He knew scout couldn't hurt him, but damn, she was scary when she was

mad.

_Really_ scary.

Not seeing anyone, he floated over to the couch and grabbed an apple he'd stolen, which

he'd put in one of his pockets. He inhaled the scent, licking his lips, ready to sink his fang-

like teeth into it's cool, crisp, juicy, flesh.

"Hello, Ryuk."

"GAH!"

He whipped around. Scout was standing, arms crossed, her face dark in the doorway. How

the hell did she come in so quietly?! Scout glared at him, planting herself in front of him.

"So, all the rules are 'real' huh?" she asked. Ryuk swallowed heavily, "Well, I was gonna

tell ya, but-"

Seeing the look in her eyes, and hearing her foot tapping, something she never did unless

she was really, **_really_** angery, he decided to just shut up.

"You lied to me," Scout stated.

"Yes..."

"You knew I didn't have to kill people just to save my own life because I picked up a book,

and you just let me think that. You'd better have a damn good expliation for this, Ryuk."

Ryuk scratched the back of his head, "I have an explination, but I don't know how GOOD it

is."

"I'm all ears" Scout said, drumming her fingers as she continued tapping her feet.

"Well, You see, I was sitting next to one of the veiwing spheres one days and..."

000000ooooo000000

As Ryuk finished up his story, Scout had stopped tapping her foor. Ryuk glanced up. Her

face was blank but her eyes were cold.

"So all this time, I was just part of a bet."

"No the entire time," Ryok said, "just the first few weeks..."

Scout just continued looking at him coldly. Ryuk felt himself get cold all over. Scout was going

to do something to get back at him, even if she couldn't physically harm him. He could feel

it.

"Ryuk..."

"I'm sorry."

Ryuk had no idea where the words came from, they just came out of his mouth. Scout raised

an eyebrow, "You're sorry?"

"Um..."

"Sorry is hardly something you usualy feel, Ryuk. I should probably burn the Death Note, or

give it back, or whatever."

"Scout-"

"BUT. You did save my fathers life," she said, her frame relaxing slightly, "And I've seen the

world you come from. If I were in your shoes..." She trailed off.

"So..."

"So," she said, "I forgive you. It's crazy and stupid, but I'm going to forgive you. You've put

me through hell, but I'm going to forgive you because even if you're a rotten, lying bastard

you're my friend."

Ryuk let out a sigh of relief. Scout punched i in the face while his was off-guard, causing the

Shinigami's head to snap backwards.

"Yowch!" Ryuk cried. Scout crossed her arms again, "don't thnk you're off the hook, Death god.

I'm still gonna punish you."

"Huh?"

"No apples for a month. and this time I MEAN it."

She snatched the apple he stillhad in his hand and took a big bite out of it. Ryuk watched in

horror. "B-but Scout-"

"But nothing, she said, taking another bite, "You won't starve to death."

"But Scout!"

"I said NO. Ryuk."

"But I---Apples-- I- Light, come on! Don't be cruel!"

Scout looked at him sharply, "Did you just call me Light?"

"I...Uh..."

"Well if you think I'm scary now, you havn't seen ANYTHING yet, Shinigami," shae said, taking

another bite of the apple as she stomped out the door, "Johnny's waiting for me. He's gonna

brief me on the situation at hand."

"What situation?" Ryuk asked dismaly, mouring the loss of the last apple he was gonne have

for a while.

"The L situation," she said.

Ryuktilted his head, " You mean Near? Should've figured he'd get involved..."

Scout just ignored him, "You're going to tell us everything you know about this guys, and

everything you and Light had to do when we get to his place, got it?"

Ryuk knew better than to talk back to her right now.

She might bump his no-apple ban to TWO months.

"Yes ma'am..."


	60. At Johnny's

"Well, here's the scoop. Nate River AKA. "L" has been monitoring me for a while. He had camera's

in my apartment, wire taps. He's even had me followed."

"And you haven't been caught yet?"

"No. I've been very careful up till now" Johnny said, " And it has not been easy. Especially with

Rekabs little popcorn issue..."

"Popcorn?" Scout asked.

"Each Shinigami has a certain food they're addicted to," Ryuk explained, "For most Shinigami it's

a fruit. But once in a while there's one who has an affinity for junk food. It's not common."

Rekab pouted, "Popcorn is awesome."

"So are apples."

"Popcorn is better."

"Pah!"

"Hmph!"

The younger Shinigami scowled at Ryuk, proudly grabbing a handful of popcorn in a bowl nearby

and tossing it into his mouth. Tanya came in the door of Johnnys room, a juice cup in her hands.

"Johnny, mommy wants to know what you want for dinner." She looked over at Scout and waved

"Hi."

"Um...Hi "Scout said. She hadn't noticed the little girl when she'd come in. Johnny ruffled the girls

nearly-black hair, so like his, and smiled, "How about Taco's?"

"Okay!" she said, heading for the door. She stopped, "Rekab, do need some more popcorn?"

"I'm good right now," The purple skinned Shinigami said.

"Okay, well, just tell me if you do."

"I will."

Tanya scurried out the room, shutting the door behind her softly with a click. Scout looked at

Johnny with a raised eyebrow, "Your sister knows about this?"

"Sort of. She doesn't know that I kill people. She just knows that Rekab is here because I found

the Death Note. I don't think she's connected everything together yet."

"How can she see Rekab then?"

Rekab ate some more popcorn, "She touched it by accident a while back. She was scared of

me at first, but now she acts like I'm her big brother."

"Do your parents know about any of this?" Scout asked.

"Mom? No."Johnny said

"What about your Father?"

Johnny stiffened,"I don't have a Father."

"Oh...Did he die?"

"You could say that," Rekab said. Scout looked royally confused.

Johnny cracked his neck, "My dad died when I was little. My mom remarried six years ago when

her boyfriend at the time got her pregnant. His name was Ray Matherson. His brother, Billy,

owned a bar he and his junkie alcoholic freinds liked to visit. A lot. He was a mean drunk and a

bitter sober. He's beat me up more times than I care to remember and said and threatened

Tonya with his belt constantly. I'm gonna get into how he treated my mom. I killed him the

moment I got the Death Note."

Scout was speechless. Johnny grabbed himself a small handful of popcorn and droped three

pieces into Charlies cage. The rat began nibbling at them hungrily. Scout noticed and looked at

the small creature.

"Aww...he's adorable..."

"Yeah," I saved him from one of Ray's traps. One of his feet got choped off.

"Oh how awful..."

"Yeah. His name is Charlie."

"Cute. How come he's limping?"

"Oh, he's bouncing. He only has three legs. I rescued him from one of Ray's traps."

"That's horrible. That must've been so bad for him..."

"He's fine." Johnny said reaching into the cage and rubbing the tender creatures head and

back gently. Scout smiled sadly.

How could someone so sweet and polite and gentle be the most dangerous person in the

world?

She sighed, "Oh well."


	61. Dinner

"No Way. No Way, I'm not going."

"_Matsuda..."_

"No! I won't do it, Sayu needs me here. Near promised I wouln't have to go."

_"The situations changed. L suspects there might be a second Kira_" Aizawa said.

"Suspects. He doesn't know for certain, then."

_"When has he ever been wrong?"_

Silence.

Aizawa sighed over the other end of the webcam up-link,"_Look, Matsuda, I know you want to_

_stay close to Sayu, given her...history in the first Kira case, but For somereason, L thinks you'll_

_come in handy. Besides, it's not YET. L wants to wait until the second Kira reveals themself. I_

_just called to give you a heads up."_

"What on Earth does Near think I can do if there is a second Kira?"

_"I don't know. Oh, I gotta go. We can talk later Matsuda."_

Matsuda sighed as Aizawa's image suddenly faded. Sayu walked in, "Who was that, honey?

were you talking to someone?"

"Umm...Just Aizawa. It was nothing important," he lied, "Is Makoto up from her nap yet?"

As a matter of fact, yes. She's playing with her teddy bear."

Matsuda smiled, "The one I got her?"

"Yup. Come see."

Matsuda followed Sayu into the baby's room. Sure enough, she was laying in her crib, chewing

on the now wet ear of the stuffed panda bear Matsuda had bought for her a few days ago.

"Aw...look at my little angel..." He said reaching into the crib and running a hand through

the baby's thick hair. Makoto grabbed her fathers hand in her delicate grip, squeezing the

fingers. She raised one to her mouth and began sucking on it.

"Oh, help!" Matsuda quietly and playfully pleaded, "I'm getting attacked by the finger monster!"

Sayu giggled as Matsuda pretended to struggle in Makoto's grip, "Save me, Sayu, you're my

only hope!"

"I'm coming, Touta," she said picking up the infant and gently tugging her husbadns hand

out of her grip. Matsuda wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed her cheek, "That's

what you said last night, too."

Sayu whacked him on the arm, "Touta!"

Matsuda grinned, "You said that too."

"If I weren't holding the baby..."

"But you are," Matsuda said in a sing songy voice, "Oh, hey. I gotta go scan through some

videos, I'll be at the computer if you need me."

"Alright, "she said, bouncing the baby a little, "Oh, I think someone needs a diaper change..."

* * *

Scout shook her head as Johanna offered her some Tacos.

"I couldn't..."

"Oh, I insist," she said, "At least take some home with you, I always cook too much," she

urged.

"Well...I-" Scout started, but her growling stomach interupted her. Johanna smiled,"That

settles it, then. You're staying for dinner, and that's final."

Scout sighed, but took a seat at the table. Johnny sat down in the seat beside her,"You're

gonna love mom's tacos. Best things ever. They're Tanya's favorite, right, sis?"

"YUP!" Tanya said, giggling as Johanna place two large soft shelled tacos on her plate. She

eagerly picked it up and took a bite, the juices covering her chin, "I love tacos!"

"You have juice on your chin," Rekab said.

"Oh!" She quickly grabbed a napkin and wiped it off. Rekab nodded and turned to Ryouk as

their humans continued eating.

"So, Ryuk, I heard you got banned from eatting any apples."

"What's it to ya?" he snapped.

Rekab smirked, poking Ryuk's side, "You're going through withdrawal, aren't you?"

"Not yet," Ryuk said, "You'll know when I'm going through withdrawal... I twist up like a pretzel

and do headstands."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"Glad I've never pissed off Johnny that bad. I don't think I could bear the loss of popcorn...I already

went through a popcorn shortage that time the cameras were in the house..."

"I went through the same thing with apples back when Light was alive. Kinda makes me wonder

if having a human is really worth it sometimes..."

Rekab looked over at Johnny and Tanya, and Johanna, even though she didn't even know of his

existance. He cared about these humans. And they cared about him. He smiled to himself.

"Not me." he said, "My humans are treasures."

"Suck up."

"Pet," Rekab said.

"Shut up!"


	62. Walking Home

Johnny volunteered to walk Scout back to her apartment, as San Francisco could get a

little...rough after nightfall. Scout accepted gladly, it's not like Ryou would've been any

help to her.

"So Johnny..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you...really think the world is better with Kira in it?"

"Crime is down, the streets are safer to walk at night, children can walk down the street

without worrying as much whether or not they'll get abducted by some pervert or other

scum out for a few bucks. I'd like to say so."

"But don't you ever...you know...regret killing people? I mean, these criminals may be bad

guys, but hey, they have families too. People that love them and miss them."

"The good of the many outweigh the good of the few. I'm willing to let the families of those

criminals feel the brief pain of loss than continue to let them cause pain to others for years

to come."

"It's just..."

"Yes?"

"I don't like it...killing people...It's not right."

"Is it wrong to kill a thief if he's going to kill a bank full of hostages? or a murderer if he's

about to kill someone? What about a rapist about to commit another atrocity to some

unsuspecting woman?"

Scout couldn't answer. There was only one she could give.

Johnny sighed, "Look, if you don't like it, why don't you just give up the Death Note?" he

asked. "Because Ryuk would just find someone else to give it to. And they might not

share my views. And..."

"And...?" Johnny asked.

"Ryuk...isn't all that bad...He's a liar and and an asshole, but...he has helped me out a

few times. Besides, he saved my dad's life..."

Johnny nodded to himself, "What's your dad like?"

"He's a dentist, same as my mom. He's funny and kind and patient...He always calls me

Muffin Head, and he's so supportive."

"Sounds like a great guy."

"He is."

"She practically worships the guy," Ryuk, who'd been flying above with Rekab, said as he

swooped down, floating behind them. "She's always talking about her dad. He's her idol.

It'd crush her if somethingwere to happen to him."

"Is that why you saved him?" Rekab, who floated down beside him asked

"That was completely by accident," Ryuk said quickly, glancing up nervously, "It was just

dumb luck."

Scout's hardened attitude towards her shinigami softened, seeing that little glance upwards.

Even Death Gods had problems...and fears. She'd seen the shinigami realm, not exactly the

best place to live. Well...not live...not exactly...more like exist.

And that was kinda sad. It was kind of easy to understand why Ryuk had decieved her. If

she was in his place...

"Well, you are the expert in being dumb," she said, with a hint of a smile at the corner of her

mouth.

"What're you smilin' about?" Johnny asked, cracking his own grin in delight that her mood

seemed better. She looked prettier smiling.

Not that he liked her or anything, smiling just suited her better.

"Nothing...Hey Johnny, I don't have anything to do, now that I found you. Do you maybe wanna

hang out or something?" Scout asked, "I still plan on convincing you to give up your Death Note."

Johnny smirked, "Not gonna happen, babe. But the hanging out thing I can do. What did you

have in mind?"

"I don't know. What do you like to do?"

"Go skating, hang out at the arcade, go to the movies. The beach is always good."

"Oh that sounds fun. I like the beach. I don't get to go a lot because I live in Canada. You know,

it's chilly up there a lot."

"Beach it is," Johnny said, "What time do you want me to pick you up?"

"Whenever is cool."

"Good. It's a date," Johnny said as they stopped in front of _El Tigre._

"Date?" Scout asked, raising an eyebrow.

"See ya, Scout," Johnny said. He kissed the back of her hand. Scout blushed crimson as Johnny

winked, walking off with Rekab floating behind him.

Scout watched as his disapeared down the street.

"A...date...?" she muttered to herself again, "Like...a **date** date?"

Ryuk chuckled. "Scout and Johnny, sitting in a tree. K-I-"

"Say one more letter and I won't let you have any apples tomarrow," Scout said heading up the

steps to the door of the building.

"Tomarrow? Does that mean you're lifting my apple ban?" he asked excitedly.

Scout just smirked and shut the door in his face.


	63. Beach Part 1

Near's 'public' cell phone rang. He picked it up and answered"Hello? Johnny? I didn't think

you'd call me."

"_I __Wanted to know if you'd like to go to the beach with me tomorrow," _He said from the other

end.

"Why would you do that? I'm investigating you after all..." Near asked, adding another

layer of Dice to the ever-increasing tower he was building. the voice on the other end

scoffed "_Oh yeah right, if you're L then I'm Kira."_

"Exactly my suspicions," Near said, carefully arranging the dice so that the dots alternated

"_Whatever. I'm not Kira, so I'm not worried."_

"I see..." Near said "Well then I suppose I could accept..."

"_Good. Meet me at the arcade. I'll be bringing a friend."_

"See you there..."He said hanging up and going back to work on his tower. "This could be

essential for the case...most essential indeed..."

* * *

_**The next day...**_

* * *

Scout looked in the mirror, checking herself. She'd her red hair back into a poney tail. She

was wearing a tank top with bermuda shorts. Her swim suit was underneath. "Ryuk, be

honest. How do I look?"

"American," Ryuk said taking a bite out of an apple.

"Is that god or bad?"

"You look fine."

" Fine-fine or whatever-fine or Nice-fine?"

"Does that really matter?" he asked. Scout turned to him with a look.

"Uh...Nice fine" he answered quickly, "You look great."

Scout sighed, "Are you sure? I don't wanna look stupid..."

"He probably didn't mean a date-date," Ryuk said, "It's just an expression."

"I know. I know. But I'm just making sure I look okay."

"You worry too much" The shinigami declared, finishing off the apple. Scout inhaled deeply,

"You're right, I do worry too much...But can you blame me?" Ryuk shrugged. A knock came

from the door. Scout jumped, "That's him, isn't it?" Ryuk floated out of the bathroom, "Let

me check..." After a moment he returned, "Yup. It's him."

Scout checked her hair one last time and scurried over to the door, Johnny stood there,

dressed casualy, "Hey."

"Hey," she replied.

"You ready?"

"Yeah."

"Good. Come on, There's someone I want you to meet. We'll be meeting him at the arcade."

"Who is it?" Scout asked, partially relieved that it wasn't a REAL date after all.

"L, of course. I invited him to come with us so he can see what a normal guy I am. His

name's Nate. I checked with The Eyes just to make sure."

"You have The Eyes?" She asked. "Sometimes," Johnny said pressing the button for the

ground floor in the elevator. "Sometimes?" Scout asked, raising an eyebrow. "You ever

heard of a return policy?" Johnny asked as they exited the building, "I just return it after

I'm done with it."

"That's not in the rules," Ryuk said, glancing over at Rekab accusingly. "Well, it's not against

the rules either. I checked."

"It's a loophole."

"It's my decision and my problem, so get off my back."

"What if the old man decides it's HIS problem. You could get a level 6 punishment. You

think it's FUN being human for 72 hours or more? It's interesting but not THAT interesting."

"Maybe I wanna be human," Rekab said crossing his arms. Ryuk grabbed his arm, "You'd

better watch what you say. You know Justin is always listening."

Rekab jerke away, "I'm not afriad of him."

"You should be."

"Hey, will you two stop arguing?" Scout said. Johnny crossed his arms, "Rekab, just ignore

him, he doesn't understand..." He reached out and took the Shinigami's hand, interlacing

their fingers and meeting Rekabs gaze unblinkingly.

"We're not just a human and a Shinigami. We're more than that."

"We're brothers," Rekab said, with a nod.

"Damn strait," Johnny said with a grin. Rekab grinned back.

Ryuk rolled his eyes,"Yeah, you're brothers, and Rem was Misa's mommy..."

"She acted like it. You know, there's nothing wrong with loving someone Ryuk. IN-LOVE,

yeah, but not love in general. I mean, you were friends with Light wern't you?"

"Yeah. Friends. But I still ended up killing him. I don't let my feelings stand in the way of

my duties as a shinigami. Are you gonna kill Johnny when the time comes?"

Rekab glared at Ryuk, "You know I have to..." he muttered bitterly.

"Just checking," Ryuk said shrugging.

Scout sighed, "Geez, will you two-"

"Shh," Johnny said, cutting her off, "He's just up ahead..." He turned, spotting the pale,

dark-eyed boy.

"Hey, Nate!"

000000ooooo000000

Near turned towards the sound of JohnnY's voice. He had a girl with him. She had red hair

and was wearing casual clothes. He himself was wearing a white t-shirt and equaly white

shorts. He nodded as they approached, playing with a lock of his hair, "Hello, Johnny."

"Nate, I want you to meet Scout. She's a friend of mine."

"How do you do?" Socut asked, holding out her hand. Near reached out, gripping her hand

firmly and shaking it once. "Nice to meet you." Scout was suprised by his grip, considering

his size. He turned back to Johnny, "Shall we go to the beach now?"

"Sure" Johnny said, "That okay with you Scout?"

"Sounds good to me."

Near reached into one of his oversized pockets and pulled out a dark blue bottle, "We'll need

this then..."

"What is it?" Scout asked.

"Sunscreen," Near said, squeezing some out on his palm and coating his arms, "I have sensitive

skin..."


	64. Beach Part 2

Scout laughed as the water washed over her, nearly knocking her over, "This is so fun!"

she cried, "Johnny, Nate you've gotta try this!"

Johnny laughed from the shore, where Nate was constructing a very large, very detailed

sand castle. Johny looked down at the pale teen, "Come on Nate, let's go swim, it's rude

to leave Scout out there by herself, after all."

"I'd like to finish this up first."

"Oh, don't be a wet blanket, it's gonna knocked over anyway," Johnny said grabbing his

hand and tugging him to his allowed himself to be led into the water, the cold waves

lapping at his waist. Johnny grinned, "See, not so bad is it?"

Near opened his mouth to reply when they were both suddenly splashed in their faces,

missing their eyes by inches. Scout giggled as they wiped the water from their faces,

"Got you!" she said. "Oh yeah?" Johnny asked, grinning wickedly. Scout didn't have time

to react as Johnny suddenly pounced on her, knocking her off her feet and into the water,

arms wrapped around her middle, keeping her head above the water, but throughly

knocking her on her butt.

"Ahhh!" Scout yelped as she fell backwards. She pushed him backwards into Near, and

they both toppled over, completely soaking, rubbing salt from their eyes.

"Revenge!" She cried victoriously. She hadn't had this much fun in a long time. The three

of them playing in the ocean, It was hard to believe that Near was her enemy.

her enemy...

She'd almost forgotten that. Nate-Near- was L. He was the one after Johnny. And herself,

the little voice in the back of her head warned her. He was the one that was going to

bring BOTH of them to justice if he found out SHE was the second Kira...

Ryuk, who had been watching her from the shore, glided over and dropped down next to

"You look kinda pale," he commented, "Something wrong?"

Scout pretended to see how deep out should swim without chickening out. As soon as she

was out of earshot she shuddered, "Oh, Ryuk, what am I doing? I'm swimming out here

with Kira, and the guy who's trying to bust us!"

"Him, I dunno if he knows about you yet."

"Whatever!" she whispered anxiously, "I must be insane! This is nuts! I-"

"You're scared," Ryuk said, as if stating a fact.

Scout splashed water at him, hitting him in the eyes, "You think? I'm so dead it's not even

funny!"

"No you're not," Ryuk said. "Just play it cool, you'll be fine. Johnny seems to have a grip

on things, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I guess..." she muttered.

"Boo!"

"Ah!" Scout yelped whipping around. Seeing Johnny, she sighed with relief. Johnny raised

an eyebrow, "You okay?"

Scout shook her head, "To be honest, I'm a little uncomfortable..."

"About Near?"Johnny asked knowingly.

Scout nodded.

"Don't worry about it," he said, " I'm on the ball, you'll be fine."

"That's what I said," Ryuk said poking Scouts forehead. Scout glared at him. Near waded

over to them, "What're you two doing?"

"Making marriage arrangments, wanna be the best man?" Johnny asked. Scout blushed.

Near gave an amused smirk, " I'd be delighted, when's the wedding?"

"What do you think, my love?" Johnny asked, winking at Scout.

Scout forced a playfull grin, "Gee, I dunno, how about fall?"

"Sounds good to me" Johnny said turning back to Near.

"I'll pencil it in..." Near said lifting a water gun from under the surface and squirting both

of them in the face.

Johnny and Scout sputtered and spit water from their mouths and wiped their faces. Johnny

scowled mischeviously, "You're SO dead, Nate!" he said, splashing him, "Scout, get 'im!"

Scout decided tot ake Johnny and Ryuk's advice and relax. Nothing could happen as long as

Johnny had a plan...right?

* * *

_**sorry for being so late in updating guys! Been really busy! **_**_next chappie will be longer,_**

**_ I promise!_**


	65. Mini Chapter: Beach Part 3

_**Hi guys, sorry for the late update, I've recently been attacked by two bulldogs **_

_**and my wrist was severly injured. I'm having trouble typing ATM so be patiet **_

_**with me. I know I promised a longer chappie, but I just can't, typing one**_

_**handed. srry...**_

::hides behind rock::

_**Wish me luck healing!**_

* * *

Scout leaned against the wall as she, Johnny and Near licked their ice cream cones.

Scout had chocolate, Johnny had butter-pecan, and Near had gotten vanilla with

strawberry swirls. they'd spent four hours at the beach, and were taking a break

for a snack. Ryuk and Rekab stood a few feet away watching. Ryuk sighed in a

bored way, " This is boring..."

"No it's not. It's good to see the Humans relaxing" Rekab declared, "Johnny is

usualy so busy with his work as Kira, and his schoolwork. Thank goodness for

summer vacation."

"Whatever... Ryuk said, shrugging.

000000ooooo000000

"Mmm... I've never had American Ice cream before..." Scout said, licking her lips to

savor the taste. Near raised an eyebrow, " you're not American?"

"No. I'm Canadian," she said, "I'm visiting for the summer."

"I see..." he said, "How do you know Johnny?"

"Um..."

"We met the other day," Johnny said, " She had dinner with me and my family, and

I decided to take her on a play date. We have a lot in common."

_'Yeah...a Death Note..._'Scout thought to herself.

Near took another livk of his ice cream cone, " Scout?"

"Yes?"

"What do you think about Kira?"

Scout stiffened, "What do you mean?"

"Are you a supporter, or a non-supporter?" he asked, looking her in the eyes with those

piercing black eyes of his. Scout licked her cone, "I'm a non-supporter of course! It's not

right to kill people."

"You answered that rather quickly..." Near said, "Methinks the lady doth protest too

much..."

Scout feigned ignorance ofwhat he was implying. "Of course I answered quickly," she

said, "I'm sick of people asking me the question. Everyone back home keeps asking me

'for or against?' It's annoying!"

"Yeah, I guess it would be," Johnny said, "People ask me all the time too. I of course am

against. I do see where he's comming from though. He, or she, has the right Idea, just

the wrong method."

"Oh really?" Near asked.

"Everyone's entitled to their own opinion," Johnny said with a shrugg, finishing off his

cone, "This IS America, right?"

"America's not so great..." Scout said, "You have to pay for hospital visits and medical

bills. Back home the government pays for all that for us. plus medicine is cheaper than

it is here."

"How would you know? You've only been here like 3 days," Johnny said, raising an

eyebrow.

"My cousin, Jamie Kay lives here. Most of my mom's family does. She met dad at a

dentist's convention when she moved up there for business reasons. They got married

soon after, so she became a citizen."

"Ah."

Near finished his Ice cream, cracking his neck, "Let's go to the arcade," he said turning

and walking down the pavement" Scout, I would like to talk to you some more..." He

said, glancing over his shoulder as he waited for them to catch up.

Scout gulped.

_' I don't like the sound of that...'_

* * *

**_By the way, for those of you who wish to know, I am AMERICAN._**

**_I just happen to like canada, stop sending me comments about making fun of americans,_**

**_because I AM one damnit._**


	66. Partners More or Less

**_Thank you everyone who has tolerated the short chapter I gave you last time I_**

**_updated, and MANY thanks for wishing me well^^ _**

**_It's nice to know you guys care about my wellbeing (even if it is just so you can _**

**_squeeze more chapters out of me lol)_**

**_thank you Hoshiko13 for the enchanted cookie of healing^^ it was yummy._**

**_and to 'Kixa'-'Kisa'-'Otaku'- there will be NO Scout/Near._**

**_But just to screw with you a little, here is the next chapter, which I shall make _**

**_nice and long just for you readers^^_**

**_I am feeling much better now, even though It will take a while to fully heal._**

**_Keep sending reviews, for they make me feel happy!_**

******_  
_**

* * *

By the time Scout and Johnny called it a day, her nerves were thoroughly frayed to the

point where she could no longer hide her anxiety. Luckily, Johnny managed to get her

out of the arcade before she had a complete break down. Near had kept asking her

questions about herself, what her beliefs were on the subject of Kira, and lastly, if she

knew what a shinigami course she'd lied; she'd asked if Shinigami was some

kind of food.

Ryuk got cracked up over that.

Johnny escorted Jamie back to her apartment, an arm casually flung around her shoulder

as they climbed up the stiars to her room. "Hey, it's okay, you did great."

"I sucked. God, I'm so dead..."

"Were you talking to me, or Rekab?" Ryuk asked. Scout face palmed, "that's not funny,

Ryuk."

"Well you said 'god' and that's what I am."

"Yeah, a Death God" Scout said, "Forgive me if I'm not exactly comforted, oh almighty

Ryuk."

Ryuk pouted "You're a real party pooper, Scout."

Rekab rolled his eyes, "This is no time for fun Ryuk. She has reason for concern, this is a

very serious matter."

Scout sighed, as she opened the door to her apartment "I'm gonna get found out for

sure. He'll find out I'm Kira and I'll get put on trial as a murderer and be sent to a

maximum security prison where I'll probably be molested by a prison guard right before

they put me in the electric chair or hang me or give me a deadly injection or...or..." her

shoulders began shaking as her breathing picked up, tears welling up in her eyes.

Johnny whirled her around to face him "Scout. None of those things will happen to you."

"How do YOU know?" she asked, wiping at one of her eyes. "I've been the top suspect

of the Kira case for months now, and they haven't convicted ME yet."

"You're a better actor than me," she said, "Besides you WANTED this. I didn't... I was

forced into it because I thought I was gonna die if I didn't write down names."

"Then why didn't you return it once you found out the truth?" he asked, easing her into

a sitting position on the couch. Scout sniffled, going through her mental list of reasons

she didn't just burn the Death Note, or give it back to Ryuk. It really would be better if

she did. She'd forget everything that had happened and her life would go back to

normal.

"Ryuk would just give it to someone else if I gave it up...Ryuk would have to go back

to the Shinigami Realm if I destroyed it, and..."

"And what?" Johnny asked as she paused

Scout shook her head, "I...I don't know..."

Johnny took her hands in his own, "Scout, I know you're not comfortable with the idea

of being Kira. I don't like the title either, I don't WANT to be anyone's god. But the title

of Kira is more than that."

"Killing is WRONG!" Scout asserted, pulling her knees to her chest. Johnny tightened his

grip on her hands. "You said so yourself if they catch us, they'll kill us. Hell, governments,

mafia, and a lot of other people kill every day. Do you think they care if the people they

hurt are innocent or not? At least WE kill for a reason. We only kill the guilty and the

cruel, sick people of the world. Deep down you know that every time you or I write a

name the world gets a little better. I mean look how much crime has dropped since I

became Kira."

"I know that, but..."

"Scout, I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you as long as I'm Kira" He said

"You're the only other human who I can trust. So I need you to trust me. Can you do

that?"

Scout inhaled deeply, biting her bottom lip "A-Alright, Johnny..."she said, closing her

eyes, "I'll trust you...I still don't think killing is right, but since we're sort of in this mess

together now...I guess I'll just have to go with you on a few things..."she said, quickly

adding, "But I'm still gonna try to get you to give up your Death Note!"

Johnny chuckled, giving her a soft smile, "Wouldn't have it any other way, Scout. It's

a good thing that you're on the other side of this. It gives you an advantage in reasoning.

You're the other side of the coin."

"That also makes me a liability," she pointed out. Johnny shrugged, standing "True. But I

have faith in you, Scout."

But we only mat 3 days ago, how on earth can you trust me?" she asked, "How do you

know I'm trustworthy?"

"Because I'm a good judge of character."

Scout was silent. Johnny turned to leave, his hand on the knob. "Wait!" Scout said. Johnny

turned to her, "What?"

"You don't have to leave yet..." she said, "You let me stay for dinner last night...I'm not

such a horrible cook..."

Johnny gave a grin, "Are you asking me to have dinner with you?"

Scour blushed, "Of course not! I'm just being polite. Besides, Ryuk and Rekab will be eating

with us so it's not like a date or anything!"

"Uh-huh."

"It's not!" Scout asserted, her cheeks going even redder.

Johnny raised a finger to his chin, "I guess I could, if you really want...Just as a friend."

"Friend, defiantly JUST friend!" Scout eagerly agreed.

Johnny shrugged and walked back over to the couch, taking a seat, "Okay then. I'll stay.

What's for dinner?"

"Ginger beef. it's a western Canadian dish..."

"Sounds yummy," Johnny said with a grin, "Especially if you're the one making it."

Scouts face turned bright pink. Johnny laughed, "This is going to be a very interesting

partnership. I just came up with my new favorite game. It's called _'How red can I make _

_Scout's face go'? "_

Scout pouted, turning away, "Shut up!"

"Yes darling."

"SHUT UP!"


	67. Midnight Conversations

Scout tossed and turned, whimpering and moaning in her sleep. Ryuk watched from

the foot of her bed. She was having a nightmare, and he was contemplating on if

he should wake her up. She'd been having Nightmares every night for a week now,

but she'd also told him not to bother her while she was sleeping.

"To wake...or not to wake...that is the question..."

Eventualy, He decided wakeing her up would probably be the best option and

walked over to her, poking her in the shoulder, "Scout."

"GAH!"

She sat up with a yell, panting heavily, shivering. She focused her sleep-filled eyes

on the shinigami. "Ryuk?" Ryuk nodded, "Yeah, who else would it be? You were

having a nightmare. Again. So, what was it about this time?"

Scout inhaled deeply, sighing, "Same thing as all the others...I was in a building,

and then Johnny and Near were there, and there were gunshots. Then there was

a fire, and then something big and heavy fell on me. I thought it was gonna crush

me..."

"Scout, maybe you should start taking dream supressants."

"Dream supressants?"

"Yeah. Ever heard of Hypnosil?"

"Ryuk, I'm really worried about these dreams. I've had the same one every night

this week" she said pulling her knees up to her chest. "What could it mean?"

"What it MEANS is that you're worried over what'll happen if you and Johnny get

caught by L" Ryuk said taking a bite out of an apple with a wet crunch. He chewed

for a moment and swallowed, "You just need to relax."

Scout sighed, "Yeah, you're right...I know I worry too much...Besides, there's no

way Near would suspect me to be the second Kira...I just here two weeks ago. I

have no visable connection with the Death Note. So I should be fine, right?"

"Uh...right."

* * *

Near sat on the floor, holding up a barbie doll who's hair he'd dyed red and styled

to lookclike Scout's. He sat her next to the doll he'd been using to represent

Johnny. A knock came from the door.

"Enter."

Roger entered the room, carrying a stack of documents, "The paperwork on Scout

Hemmings you requested has arrived."

"Thank you, Watari." he said reaching up and taking the papers without looking

away from his toys.

"Will there be anything else?"

"No, that will be all, thank you."

Roger nodded and exited the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

Near looked at the stack of papers; everything from her birth records to her last

report card.

"Now...time to get busy..."

* * *

RING RING...RING RING...RING R-"

"Hello? Touta Matsuda here...Oh, L! Yes...no...Why would you-Oh. Uh-huh? No. I

can't do that, I can't. Sayu would-I know that but-!...Yes sir..."

000000ooooo000000

Matsuda looked in on Sayu as she lay on their couch, sleeping, their daughter laying

on her chest, with one arm thrown over her protectivly as she slept. He smiled. He

loved moments like this. Everything always seemed right and just in the world in these

moments of family tranquility.

He'd gotten the call while he'd been reviewing the latest video footage he'd gotten

from Aizawa and the others on Johnny. Near had confirmed that he did indeed have

a suspect for the second Kira. He was to come to America as soon as possible.

The hardest part would be telling Sayu. Looking upon her now, so peaceful and at

ease as she napped with thir precious child, He couldn't bring himself to wake her

to tell her the news. He'd let her sleep...Give her a few more moments of happiness...

just a little longer before he had to give her the news.

She deserved that much.

Matsuda turned towards his bedroom to pack his suitcase now and save the trouble

of doing so while Sayu pleaded later.

* * *

Johnny yawned as he sat up. He'd fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie.

He groaned, cracking his back as he trudged towards his room. Rekab held the door

open for him.

"Thanks..." he murmered as he flopped onto his bed, burrying himself in his blanket

and pillows.

"No problem."

"Hey, Rekab?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why do you and Ryuk argue so much?"

"We have...different opinions. Especialy when it comes to how we treat our humans."

"Oh?"

"Yeah. Ryuk and I are polar opposites."

"I think you guys aremore alike than you think you are."

"What makes you say that?"

"Nothing. Night, Rekab."

"Night Johnny."

Johnny layed back against the pillows, falling asleep almost instantly. Rekab sighed.

"I'm gonna go check on Tanya."


	68. Mini Chapter: Base of Disoperations

Johnny was sitting on the couch in Scouts with a laptop he'd bought, his Death Note

beside him, writing names every few minutes. Scout sat on the other end of the

couch, watching _The Fantastic Mr. Fox_. Johnny glanced over at her, "Hey Scout, thanks

for letting me use your apartment as my base of operation. You have no idea how

tedious it is trying to write names when you're under constant survailance."

"I imagine so..."

"You feeling alright? You've been acting funny the past few days."

"I'm sorry, it's just...I havn't been getting a lot of sleep."

"Oh?"

"She's been having nightmares," Ryuk said.

"Oh...You should drink camomille tea. Helps promote good dreams" he said scribbling

down a name. and closing the Death Note, "That's enough for now. I've got all 150

on Germany's most wanted list." He sighed, cracking his wrist and fingers, "One of

these days I'm gonna get writers wrist..."

Scout walked over to the fridge and pulled out an ice pack, handing it to him.

"Thanks's darling, you're a peach."

Scouts face turned red as she scowled at him. "Stop doing that."

Johnny grinned, "But it's my favorite game, I don't want to, lovely"

"Stop it!"

"Dear heart."

"bleh!"

"Come on, give me some love," he said with a grin, wrapping an arm around her

waist and kssing her cheek. Scout shoved him away, wiping her cheek, "Agh! Stop

it!" By this point her face was beet red.

Johnny laughed, punching her shoulder playfully, "I'm just picking on you."

Scout pouted, "Well, stop it! it's annoying. And don't kiss me!"

"I couldn't help myself, you're so cute. And I know cute. I'm bisexual, so I like

everyone."

Scout just shook her head, rubbing her cheek again, making a face.

"Kira gems..."

Johnny just laughed. Rekab shook his head, smiling, "He's insane alright. I feel

for you, Scout."

"Insane?" Ryuk said, "You wouldn't know insane if it bit you in the nose. Now

Light Yagami, HE was insane. A complete psychopath. But what a hell of a guy...

I miss Light...He always gave me plently of apples...and HE never threatened to

take them away from me!" he said looking pointedly at Scout.

Scout stuck her tongue out at him, "Yeah, and he also never cared enough to

keep the Death Note even if it meant he was at risk just to keep you from

getting sent back to the Shinigami Realm. What a creepy place...All sand and

bones and metal..."

Johnny glanced over at Rekab, "that true?"

"Yeah. It's kind of...dead. Pun not intended."

"Yikes. You guys should try to do something about it. Carry some plants back with

you or something. Tree's and bushes or something. Think Human eye for the

Shinigami guy."

Rekab shrugged, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Scout, give me an apple" Ryuk said. Scout strode over to the fridge and pulled

out one of the fruits, tossing it to him, "There. Hey Johnny, you want anything?"

I'm good."

"Can I have some pop corn?" Rekab asked. Scout put her hands on her hips "You

just ate an entire bowl."

"So?"

Scout rolled her eyes, "Shinigami and their food addictions..."

* * *

**_Hi! It's me, Michaelmyersfangirl. sorry the chapter is so short and late _**

::Facepalms::

_**been having a lot of computer problems lately, virus, bad flash drive, plus my**_

_** sister is visiting.**_

_**On top of all this, I have writers block.**_

_**please excuse this sucky chapter!**_


	69. Matsuda's Arrival

Matsuda sat miserably between Mogi and Ide as Aizawa and Near filled him in

on what had been going on beyond the tapes they'd been sending him. He was

still depressed over having to leave Sayu and the baby back home in Japan.

Sayu had been surprisingly calm when he'd told her, but he knew in his heart that

she was devastated. He'd seen it in her eyes.

He would never forgive Near for making him upset his wife like that.

"...And basically, that's the scoop. Now, Scout and Johnny have been spending a

lot of time together the past 3 weeks. That only strengthens the theory that she's

the second Kira."

"Maybe they're just dating..." Matsuda muttered under his breath. Near shook his

head "Unlikely. I've observed their interactions together on public outings and it's

almost completely platonic on her part. I have also noticed she becomes tense and

nervous in my presence. This suggests guilt and fear of getting caught, which I can

only deduct means Johnny has told her who I am."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have told him who you were," Matsuda said cheekily.

Aizawa gave him a look. Near gave a sly smile, "True...I could have. But told him

for the single purpose of gauging his reaction. He hid it well, But I was still able to

detect the momentary distress in his eyes when I told him. there is no doubt in my

mind. He is Kira. and Scout Hemmings is the Second Kira. My only question is why

her killing pattern is so much more scarce than his. And why they stopped three

weeks ago when she arrived."

"There's always the possibility that maybe she doesn't really want to kill people."

Matsuda suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, what if she got hold of one of the Death Notes with the fake rules in it, and

was only killing people so she wouldn't die. Then she heard about the second Kira

she came to try to get him to stop or something and she found out the rules were

fake so now she's not killing anymore."

"An interesting theory Mr. Matsuda. But I doubt it would be so cut and dry," Near

said, "Nothing is ever so simple..."

* * *

Scout looked at her Death Note. She hadn't written in it since she'd arrived.

She'd still been half expecting for the rule about not writing in it to kill her. But

since she was still alive, that just confirmed that the last two rules were

indeed fake. She was almost disappointed. She supposed she was secretly

hoping Ryuk hadn't been lying to her. Stupid thought really...

000000ooooo000000

She turned to Ryuk, who was crunching an apple, playing a video game with

Rekab and Johnny while Tanya sat in Johnny's lap cheering them on and the

pressed the controller buttons.

"I'm going to smash you, pop corn breath!"

"Just try it, apple-face!"

"I'm gonna destroy both of you!" Johnny said. Tanya giggled, "Go Johnny! Come

on Rekab, you can do it! Show Ryuk who's boss!"

Scout giggled. It was fun watching them all hang out together like this. It kept

Ryuk entertained, and it kept Johnny from playing his stupid "let's make Scout

go red" game.

The sound of a key being turned in the door was heard. Scout quickly jumped on

the floor near Ryuk and ripped the game controller from his hands. Rekab quickly

handed his over to Tanya just as Johanna walked in carrying a large paper bag

filled with groceries.

"I'm home...Hello Scout, having fun?"

"Yes Ma'am" she said politely, "How was your day?"

"Oh, fine."

"Do you need some help with those groceries?"

"No, you keep playing, it's just one bag. Who's winning?"

"Johnny!" Tanya said beaming. Johnna smiled, "that's nice. Scout, will you be stay

for dinner? We're having home made pizza."

"Sure. That sounds great" Scout said as she turned back to the game and took up

Where Ryuk had been forced to leave off.

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk pouted, "I would've beat you if Johnny's mom hadn't bust in on us..."

"Yeah right, I was kicking your ass."

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

"Was too!"

Scout turned to them and glared at them coldly. Both Shinigami quieted down.

"Humans are scary..."

"Uh-huh..."


	70. mini chapter: Nears plot part 1

"In other news, the Kira investigation team seems to be drawing closer to their goal.

_The infamous 'L' has disclosed that he is close to revealing not only the identity of_

_Kira, but quite possibly a second Kira as well. Kira supporters around the world_

_continue to resent the Kira investigation, saying that the god of justice cannot be_

_stoped. Some have even threatened to-"_

Johnny clicked off the TV, frowning. Scout gave a depressed groan "I knew it,

I'm SOOO screwed...I havn't even killed anybody since I found out about the

fake rules!"

"That doesn't matter to L," Johnny said, wrapping an arm around her, "He's

relentless."

"Not that I support killing peope or anything..." Scout said, "But why havn't you

killed him yet?"

"It would only confirm that I'm Kira," Johnny said. the rest of the investigation

team would bust me and turn me in. 'bring me to justice...' he said, finger quoting

while rolling his eyes. Scout sighed. Ryuk scoffed" Well you're the one with the

Shinigami eyes part of the time, Mr Return Policy. You could just get their names

and kill them as well."

"I don't make a habit of killing police unless they're crooked." Johnny said. "I'm

different than the First Kira in that respect." he said with an edge. "Furthurmore,

don't you you two already know their names?" he asked, looking at the two

Shinigami.

"Yeah, but I'm not telling you,"Ryuk said.

"I will," Rekab said opening his mouth. Ryuk slapped him on the back of the head,

"Pipe down, you."

"I can tell him whatever I want. It's not breaking any rules. Besides, he already

knows the names from our stories, he just needs to know which faces go with

which name."

Ryuk scowled at him, "You're too close to your human."

"And you're not close enough."

"I'm as close as I want to be" Ryuk said. A knock came from the door. Johnny

stood and strode over to the door, opening it.

"Oh, Hi Nate."

000000ooooo000000

Scout stiffened briefly as she heard the boys approach, but forced herself to relax

as the the pale youth came into view. "Hi Nate."

"Hello, Scout..." he said wrapping a locl of his hair around his finger and playing

with it absentmindedly.

"What's the squeeze?" Johnny asked, plopping down beside Scout as Near took

a seat in the chair across from them.

" I'm very close to proving that you and your accomplis are in fact the two Kira's.

"Oh, now there's two? Really Nate, where do you get these crazy notions?"

"The evidence becomes clearer every day."

"Yeah right..." Johnny said, "How am I supose to be killing people when I spend

all my time with my baby sister and my girlfriend?"

Scout blushed, "I'm not your- Oh, nevermind..." she said, knowing it was useless

to argue with him, "I give up..."

"That's right, woman," Johnny said with a grin. Scout pouted, shoving him off the

couch. Johnny laughed heartily fom the floor, sprawled out. Near gave an amused

smirk, "I see what you mean..."

"Yup. My hands are full. Look for Kira somewhere else..." he said, "Oh, hey, Nate,

wanna play volleyball this weekend? You can bringa freind, it'll be me and Scout

vs You and whoever you bring along."

Near smirked inwardly, "Yes...I'd love to..."

* * *

_**Sorry 4 the Late update, been having technical difficulties**_


	71. mini chapter: Nears plot part 2

Johnny and Scout stood at the beachfront volleyball net, waiting for Near to show

up. "Where is he? He said he'd be here by Twelve," Scout said, "What if he's planning

an ambush?"

Johnny sighed, "You are WAY too paranoid..."he turned to Ryuk, "Was she like this

back home?"

"Yup"

"How did you last this long by yourself?" Johnny asked, shaking his head. The sound

of footsteps approaching drew his attention. Near was approaching, and he had a

man with him. Johnny raised an eyebrow; this wasn't one of Nears usual goons. He

flashed them an annoyed smile, "'bout time you got here, Nate, for a second I thought

you weren't coming. Who's that guy, your brother?"

Near shook his head, "This is Touta Matsuda," he'll be my game partner."

000000ooooo000000

Matsuda gave Near a wide eyed look, giving his real name to the Kira suspects, was

he insane?

Near pretended not to notice,picking up the volley ball, "How are we playing? Is there

a point system?"

"Yeah. Regular Volleyball rules. Except we're only playing for 20 points each."

"Got it. Who serves?"

"Ladies first..." he said with a grin.

"Hmm. That'll be you then," Near said tossing the ball to him. Johnny smirked, "Wise

guy, huh? I'm gonna crush you!"

"I'll bet you will..." Near said, turning to Matsuda, "Matsuda, you're familiar with this

game, yes?"

"Yes. I was on the team back in college and in high school"

"Good then you should have no trouble keeping up, should you?"

Matsuda had no time to respond as Johnny served, aiming it at him. He clutched his

hands together and passed it to Near, who sent it flying back at Johnny. Scout

intercepted, spiking it, earning herself and Johnny a point. Johnny grinned, "Way to

go, Scout!"

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk and Rekab sat a couple yards away, reclining in the sand, watching as the game

continued.

"Johnny and Near are kinda hogging the ball, aren't they?"

"Well, that's to be expected... Light and L did this too. Except it was tennis. At least

they're SHARING the ball a little..."

"That's true."

"Wanna go steal some Ice cream?"

"Sure, I could use something sweet." He said as they rose, floating over towards the

food court where vender's sold various treats and foods and drinks.

000000ooooo000000

Scout dropped strait down as a ball aimed at Johnny ended up hitting her in the face.

Johnny hurried over to her "Scout! Are you okay?"

Scout let out a groan, pulling her hand away from her face. Her nose was bleeding,

but not broken. Johnny turned to Near, looking sour, "Smooth move, Nate! I'm calling

game."

"You don't have to-" Scout started but Johnny interrupted, "No. We're partners. We

work together or not at all. I'd rather lose."

Scout felt her face get hot. And it wasn't because of the nosebleed of the sun beating

down on them. He helped her up,"Come one, tilt your head up. Let's go get you

something for your nose. Nate, you win this round, we'll play again in an hour or two.

For now lemme deal with Scout. It's past lunch anyway. Oh! I got it. You and me can

grab some lunch. Matsuda, you take care of Scouts nose."

He wasn't ABOUT to leave her alone with Near. And he wouldn't put it past him to

drug his food if he wanted. Matsuda was harmless...

Or was he?

As Near and Johnny went to get the food. Near gave a nod to Matsuda. Matsuda

gave a nod back, turning to Scout as hehanded her a tissue, " Here...So, Scout, how

long have you known Johnny?"


	72. mini chapter: Nears plot part 3

Scout tilted her head back as Matsuda pulled off bits of tissue and helped her put

them in her nostrils.

"Um...I dunno...a month by now."

"Ah. Are you a couple?"

Scout made a groan of minor annoyance, " No. But Johnny keeps saying we are.

It's kind of annoying. But then again, he can be pretty sweet..."

Matsuda decided to change the subject. "Scout, what mae you want to visit America?

Ne-err...Nate tells me you're from Canada."

Scout shifted uncomfortably, "Well, um...I came to visit my cousin. But we havn't

been able to get together much. So I'm just enjoying the good time."

"I bet you feel a lot better about visiting since the crime rate dropped."

"Uh...Yeah, I guess. I don't have to worry about being abducted or mugged. Ever

since-"

"Kira showed up?" Matsuda finished for her.

"Yeah..." Scout said hesitantly, not wanting to seem like a supporter.

Matsuda gave her a warm smile, "You know, you don't have to be a supporter

of Kira to enjoy the lack of crime. I mean, I'm on the investigation team and even

I like it. It's the method that's wrong, not the results. To be honest, sometimes I

doubt if we're really doing the right thing."

Scout sighed heavily, "I understand Why Kira does the things he does, I just don't

think killing people is right...even if it's for a good cause."

"What about war? War is faught for good causes."

"That's different. People go to war because they can't think of any other alternative,

or to defend themselves."

"That's what Kira probably thinks about what he's doing...performing a war on

crime and injustice."

Scout was silent. She knew that was EXACTLY what Johnny thought he was doing.

"Sometimes it's hard to choose sides, isnt it?" Matsuda said, half to himself.

Scout felt conflicted.

"Matsuda, I-"

"Scout!"

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk and Rekab floated over with Johnny as he and Near approached. Scout

shook herself.

No. She couldn't tell anyone.

Johnny was the only one she could trust. She'd almost forgotten Matsuda worked

for Nate. who was L. WHat was she THINKING? If L found out about her and

Johnny-

She shook her head again, smiling at Matsuda, "Uh, thanks for helping with my

nose."

Matsuda shrugged, "No problem."

Scout rose and walked over to Johnny, taking the food he held out. "Thanks, I'm

starved.

"No problem. You okay? You look pale."

"I'll tell you later...just another one of L's tricks..." she whispered.

"Ah..." Johnny whispered back, "Don't worry about it. Just remember our objective."

"I know."

Johnny gave a wink and turned back to Near, "So, After Scout's nose stops bleeding,

you up for another round?"

"Of course. I'm always ready to play a game..."

"Good. This time, try not to kill my girlfriend, okay?"

"I'll try."

"How about you, old man?"

Matsuda made a face. "Old?"

Johnny smirked, " Yeah man, what are you anyway, 40?"

While Matsuda struggled for a response, Johnny bit into his burger, savoring the

taste of char-broiled meat combined with the zesty tang of onion, pickle, cheese

and ketchup.

"Mmm...Damn that's a good burger..."

* * *

Ryuk and Rekab exchanged looks.

"So...when are you going to tell her?" Rekab asked.

"About what?" Ryuk asked, playing dumb. Rekab gave him a look.

"You know what I'm talking about."

"I'm not going to. It's against the rules."

"She deserves to know."

"Then you tell her."

"It's not my place."

"Then shut up."

Rekab sighed, "Fine. But when the time comes, you'd better be able to deal with

it."

"So had you."

The shinigami sat in silence as the teens, and Matsuda finihed up their food and

began playing again.


	73. The Plan

Near sat with Matsuda, Aizawa, Ide, and Mogi and the other members of the

investigation team.

"Alright...So have I explained my plan thoroughly, or are there any questions?"

"I do," Aizawa said, "How are we going to get hold of the Death Notes. We

don't have enough evidence to go against the girl yet."

"Oh, on the contrary, Mr. Aizawa. Her hospital records indicate not long before

Kira reappeared that she was taken in after a non-sexual assault by some

homeless drunk. At which time, in her unconcious state she kept saying

something about a monster. And she was also hospitalized for the Flu, and

distinctly said the word "Shinigami" at least 2 times. I'd say that's that's

more than enough evidence. In fact, she might be the first Kira. However,

Johnny is the one that seems to have done the majority of the killing. Which

I still have theories I'm playing with..."

Aizawa nodded. Near played with a strand of hair, "Any more questions,

gentlemen?"

Silence.

"Very well then...Tomorrow, we move."

* * *

Johnny waited inside Scout's apartment as she said goodbye to her cousin,

Jamie, who had visited. He decided to pass the time by passing jotting down

some names in his Death Note. Rekab sat next to him, "You know Johnny, I

think Scout's finally warming up to the idea of being your girlfriend."

"Think so?"

"Yeah. She hasn't been contradicting you as much when you say it."

"That's good. You know, Summer vacation is only 4 weeks from being over,

she'll have to go home soon...I don't know what I'm gonna do when she leaves."

"What you did before, I guess."

"I don't know if I can. Knowing there's another Kira out there, even if she

doesn't use her Death Note much anymore, it makes me feel...less alone. It's

tough being Kira all by yourself. Besides, Scout's so fun and pretty and I value

her perspectiveon the whole 'Kira' thing. It helps keep things in focus for me."

"You really do like her, don't you?" Came Ryuk's voice from near the door as

he floated over. "Yeah. I do," Johnny said.

000000ooooo000000

Scout came in, having finished up with her cousin, "Heh, I wish Jamie would

come visit more often, I miss her. She's so busy with work, and she's always

complaining about her room mates."

Johnny shrugged, "I'm sure she'll get more free time soon."

"Maybe."

"Who cares?" Ryuk said "Hey, Scout, give me an apple."

Scout carelessly grabbed an apple from the fridge and tossed it to Ryuk, who

began crunching on it happily.

"Mmm...Apples...Human apples are so...juicy, I think the word is..."

"Yes, Ryuk, you've told me," Scout said, "in fact, you made me taste a shinigami

apple"

"You did?" Johnny asked, "What was that like?"

"It looked like a bell pepper and tasted like sand and rust"

"Eww..." Johnny said, making a face. Scout laughed, taking her seat next to

him, " That's what I said," she said grabbing the remote and turning on the

TV, "So what do you wanna watch? Let's take the day off from being Kira,

okay?"

Johnny opened his mouth to protest, but seeing the look in her eyes, he

knew he couldn't say no.

"Okay. Whatever you want, Scout."

000000ooooo000000

Scout grinned as she channel surfed, eventually stopping, at Johnny's

request, on a horror movie called _Deep Blue Sea._ Johnny slid closer to

Scout as the movie advanced, snaking a hand around her shoulders. He

expected her to move away or scold him like she normally did, and was

surprised when she simply leaned into his side, laying her head on his

shoulder. He looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. She looked so

peaceful...content. Johnny gave a small smile and squeezed her shoulder

a little as they sat there. Scout suddenly yelped and hid her face in his

shoulder as one of the sharks jumped out of the water and ate the cook's

pet parrot.

"Oh my gosh it got the parrot! AH! The cook fell in the water! I can't look,

tell me when it's over!"

Johnny laughed, "Don't worry, the cook's hiding in the stove now."

" Oh, wait," Ryuk said, pointing, "The shark turned on the gas..."

Scout punched him, "Why did you wanna watch THIS movie?" She asked,

still hiding her face in his shoulder.

Johnny just laughed again.


	74. Kisses and Suspicion

Scout's eyes fluttered open. She'd drifted off during the movie and was

now leaning against Johnny's shoulder. Noticing she was awake, Johnny

tightened his grip around her middle, flashing her a coy little smile

"Enjoy your nap?"

Scout sat up, stretching "Er...Sorry, I didn't mean to go to sleep on you."

"It's okay, Tanya does it all the time" He said shrugging. "Besides you're

cute when you're asleep" he added with a smirk.

Scout blushed, pulling away from him, "No I'm not."

"Sure you are. You purse your lips and wrinkle your nose..." He grinned.

Time to play his favorite game. "That pretty red hair of yours was soft

against my neck and you were all cuddly."

Scout clamped a hand over his mouth, her face darkening by the second.

"Shut up!"

Johnny persisted, full out beaming. "But you were! You were all snuggled

against me and making cute little noises..."he smirked, "Made me wonder

if you'd do that in bed..."

Scout pounced on him, shoving him against the back of the couch, her face

beet red.

"I said shut up! I hate the **Make Scout Blush** game!"

"But it's so fun," Johnny protested, not struggling in the least from his

'captor'.

"No it's not, it's annoying! You're annoying!"

"You're cute when you're angry..." Johnny said, smiling charmingly at her.

Scout glared, "Well, you're nothing but a big, stupid jer-"

Her sentence was cut off as Johnny suddenly reached up and pulled her

down, pressing his lips against hers in a gentle, yet passionate kiss.

000000ooooo000000

Scout was frozen in shock, unsure how to react. She began to pull away,

only to be stopped by Johnny's firm grip around her shoulders. As calm

as she looked on the outside, she was inwardly freaking out.

This was her first kiss!

And she was having it with Johnny!

_'Is that a bad thing?'_ a voice in the back of her mind asked, _'It's not like it's _

_a BAD kiss. It feels pretty good.'_

**_'But he's Kira!'_** Scout tried to reason.

_'So are you. Besides, you like him, right?So what's the problem'_

Scout had no come back. She was trying so hard to come up with a reason

NOT to kiss him, she barely even noticed that she'd stopped trying to pull

away. Johnny's grip relaxed, he raised a hand to her hair and played with

the silky strands as he ran a hand over her shoulder blades gently.

Scout returned the kiss after a another moment of poorly formed inward

protests. Johnny's lips were warm and soft against hers, yet firm and

unyielding, fitting together almost perfectly.

Johnny pulled away first, chuckling at Scout's slightly dazed look.

"Sorry, couldn't resist. I told you you were cute..."

000000ooooo000000

A loud knock came from the door. Scout stood, "I'll get it! She said quickly,

scurrying for the door. Running a hand through her hair flusteredly. She

opened the door, "Hello?"

Near stood there, one hand in his hair, as usual, "Hello Scout."

"H-Hello Nate."

Johnny sprung up, giving a sly smirk, "Oh, hey, Nate, what're you doing

here? You caught me and Scout in the middle of a make out session."

Scout punched him in the side, glaring, "No you didn't!" she said as

Johnny laughed. Near just blinked slowly, unfazed.

"Sorry to Interrupt. However, I would like both of you to come with me

if you'd be so kind."

Johnny raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

"You'll see."

"Give me a second."

"Very well..." Near said, taking a step back as Johnny shut the door.

Johnny turned to Scout, "I have a bad feeling about this..."

"Me too" she agreed, nodding" He's up to something."

Johnny walked over to the coffee table near the TV and picked up his

Death Note. Scout's eyes widened, "Are you NUTS?"

"It's just in case I need it," he said, putting a pencil behind his ear,

"I'm not taking any chances."

"But Johnny-"

"Don't worry about it. I have everything under control."

Scout half expected to hear Ryuk make some clever quip or insult, but

then realized he wasn't here. Or Rekab for that matter.

A good thing, considering they'd been kissing a moment ago, but

still, the absence of the Shinigami was disconcerning.

Scout retrived her own Death Note, looking at it. She'd used it only

once since finding out the truth about the fake rules. Johnny reached

out, "I'll hold it for you Scout. That way if Near tries to search the

apartment while we're gone He won't find it."

Scout gave only a brief nodd before handing it over. She couldn't

help but give a shiver as Johnny hid the Death Notes in the hem of

his pants, tightening his belt and slipping his baggy shirtover them

hide them from view before opening the door and joining Near as

they headed for the elevator.

_'Ryuk...' _she asked herself, _'where are you?'_


	75. Apprehension

Scout stayed close to Johnny as Near led them down the street. "So

where are we going again?" she asked. Near kept walking, "To meet

Kira."

"Kira?" Johnny asked, suprised.

"Yes, We've discovered Kira's Identity."

Johnny's eyes lit up slightly. Near thought someone ELSE was Kira?

This was GREAT! Still, he was glad he had the Death Notes with him.

Scout seemed less relieved. She was still wondering where Ryuk and

Rekab had flown off to. She would've felt better if Ryuk was there.

Ryuk only disapeared when something bad was goin to happen. She

knew him too well.

000000ooooo000000

Near led the two down the street to an abandoned factory. The other

detectives, Mogi, Ide, Rester, and Aizawa were present. Johnny looked

around, "Where's Matsuda?"

"He's inside, keeping Kira at bay" Near said, " He's the best shot out

of all my detectives."

"Why are we here exactly?" Scout asked, looking at the detectives,

trying to hide her nerves. Near cracked his neck, turning to look at

her, "Since Johnny was our main suspect, I felt it only appropriate to

ammend my mistake by allowing him to watch the apprehension of

Kira."

Johnny shrugged, "That seems reasonable."

Scout nodded uneasily.

They entered a large room Matsuda stood facing a window into the

next room, his back turned to the teens and the detectives. Near

motioned with his hands for Johnny and Scout to stand still as he

approached Matsuda, "Matsuda, do you Have Kira in your sights?"

"No..."

He turned around, aiming his gun at Johnny and Scout, "Now I do."

000000ooooo000000

Scout gasped, clutching onto Johnny's arm. Johnny took a half step

back "Nate, what the-"

"Call me Near," the whitenette said, "An you know very well why

you're really here. Both of you are Kira, and I have proof. Rester?"

Rester brushed his blonde bangs from his face and pulled out a

sheet of paper, "Scout Hemmings, you were admitted to the hospital

for the flu about a month ago. During that time you were given

medication while you were in an unconcious state. Records state

you distinctly said the word 'Shinigami' at least twice. Earlier this

year, two teenage boys broke into your home attempting robbery

and planning assault. You caught them in the act and they fled.

Both boys died in a crash with a train mere moments later, though

luckily none of the passengers were injured. Or the conductor,"

he added.

Scout turned pale. Near narrowed his eyes "Remember their names,

Scout?"

Johnny tightened his grip on her hand, "Scout-"

"Harely Rogers and Jim Di'Angelo..." Scout choked out.

"That's right..." Near said, turning back to Rester, "Now for Johnny"

Now Aizawa pulled out some papers.

"Johnathon Morgue. Your step-father died in an 'accident' shortly

after getting into a fight. About a week after that the bar which he

frequented was burned down many of his friends were killed. It

wasn't long after that that criminals began dying. Mostly of heart

attacks, just like original Kira murders."

" How appropriate that your last name is Morgue," Near said, "Since

you've put so many people into them...The game is up, Johnny,"

Near said, "You've been found out. Both of you"

Johnny frowned, his eyes narrowed.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?" Mogi asked.

Scout looked up at Johnny, her eyes wide and her grip on his arm

painful. Johnny glanced down at her. He locked gazes with her for

a moment before turning them to Near.

" Alright...You caught me...I'm Kira."

000000ooooo000000

Scout gasped, "Johnny, don't..."

"That's right!" He said loudly, stepping in front of her, "I'm the your

after. But Scout's not part of this."

"Johnny-"

"No Scout! I won't let you take any of the blame for this!" Johnny

said without looking back, "She had a Death Note, yes, but she only

used it because she thought it would kill her if she didn't. There

were fake rules in it."

Near stopped played with his hair, "The 13 day rule?"

"Yeah. And when she found out about me she came down here to

get me to give up the Death Note. Once she found out the rules

were fake, she stopped using it."

Matsuda gave Near a small smirk, "Told you so..."

Near shrugged, "So you did, Matsuda..." He turned back to Johnny

"But that doesn't excuse murder.I'm going to have both of you

executed."

Johnny glared at him, "And here I thought we were friends" he said

coldly.

Near met his gaze steadily, "I have no friends. Mr. Mogi, please

place them under arrest. And don't forget to read them their Miranda

Rights."


	76. A Series of Foolish, Deadly Events

Scout took a half-step back as Mogi and Ide stepped forward with two

pairs of handcuffs. Rester began reciting his lines as if from memory.

"You have the right to be silent. Anything you say can and will be used

against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attourney. If

you cannot afford one, thecourt wil provide one for you..."

She trembled as he continued, Ide and Mogi hadn't reached them yet.

They were going slowly, carefully. Johnny glared, "If you arrest us, I

will NEVER tell you where I hid the Death Notes."

000000ooooo000000

Scout glanced at Johnny anxiously. It was a relativly empty threat,

since if he was arreste they'd BOTH be found since they were tucked

into his pants...

Her eyes widened slightly.

But Near didn't know that, did he?

000000ooooo000000

Near narrowed his eyes, " 'Hid them' ?"

Johnny backed away from Mogi and Ide, not missing how Matsuda

moved as well, keeping his gun trained at them. He moved again,

keeping Scout behind him, "Yeah, I hid them. I don't carry stuff like

that around WITH me. What do I look like, an idiot?" Near said

nothing as Johnny and Scout moved again, moving towards the

wall closest to them. Matsuda shot to the side of where they stood,

shooting an old pipe and piercing a hole through the rusted metal.

"Ahhh!" Scout yelped, hiding her face in Johnny's shoulder as both

teens jumped at the noise and the nearness of the deadly projectile

The pencil in Johnny's ear had been shattered.

It was that close.

"Try anything and the next one won't miss" Matsuda said without

emotion.

Johnny glared at him, " You bastard!"

Matsuda just kept aiming. Near just stood there calmly. "You brought

this on yourselves."

Scout whirled around and glared at Near, "Bullshit! I don't deserve

this crap! I don't even WANT the Death Note! The only reason I didn't

give it up in the first place is because I knew Ryuk would just give it

to someone else! And the reason I didn't get rid of it after I found out

the rules were fake and just destroy it is because I didn't wanna see

Ryuk have to back to the Shinigami world. I've been there, it sucks!"

Near raised an eyebrow, "Ryuk?"

Even Matsuda's concentration wavered, "You know Ryuk?"

"He's my Shinigami..." Scout said, "He's so annoying and obsessed

with being entertained and eating apples, I could kill him sometimes,

but he's also my friend. Plus he saved my dad's life. Even if it was by

accident..." She added, a tear sliding down her cheek. "Oh, Ryuk,

where ARE you, you coward?"

000000ooooo000000

Nobody noticed that the pipe had begun leaking a clear, odorless gas.

* * *

Ryuk and Rekab floated above the room in the rafters, they'd been

observing the events since Near had shown up at the apartment.

Ryuk was making a conscious effort to keep Rekab from flying in there

and killing the police currently keeping their humans at bay. Especially

after that near miss with the gun.

"You know the rules, you can't intervene!"

"I have to!" Rekab said reaching for his Death Note. Ryuk grabbed it

and flung it to the ground. "Oh no you don't!"

The notebook fell strait down, hitting Ide on the head. He grabbed it

and looked up, gasping, "Hey, it's Ryuk! and some purple shinigami.

with blue hair."

000000ooooo000000

Johnny and Rekab looked up, seeing the struggling Shinigami.

"Rekab!"

"Ryuk!"

As Ide passed the Death Note around so the others could see them

The Shinigami continued struggling. "You can't save him, you'll be

killed!"

"He's my brother!"

"No he's not, he's a human!" Ryuk spat, "Don't be stupid like Rem!"

Rekab growled and phased through Ryuk's grip, flying down. He

looked for his Notebook, spotting it in Resters hands.

He made a grab for it, only to have the blonde toss it to Aizawa, who

caught it one-handedly.

Rekab growled. Johnny loked at the Shinigami with confusion

"Rekab, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill every last one of these policemen!" The frantic

shinigami replied, once again making a grab for his Death Note.

Johnny's eyes widened. He suddenly realized why Ryuk and Rekab

had mysteriously disapeared earlier. It was either His, or both his

and Scout's time to die. The situation dictated that they try to stay

away and not interfere.

But apparently Rekab didnt want to.

And johnny KNEW what the penalty was if he broke the rule.

"Rekab, stop! You're making a mistake!"

Rekab finaly managed to grab his Death Note, "I won't let you die!"

Time seemed to slow down as several things happened in succesion

Johnny closed his eyes, reaching into his shirt and pulled out both

Death Notes. "And I won't let YOU kill yourself...brother..."

000000ooooo000000

Matsuda raised his gun the moment he saw Johnny pulling out the

Death Notes.

000000ooooo000000

Rekab's eyes widened as Johnny raised his arm. He tossed his on

the floor at Rekab's feet, his eyes pained as he grit his teeth and

uttered the words he'd hoped never to say again.

"I surrender my Death Note!"

000000ooooo000000

Scout saw the asian aiming. She launched herself onto his arm,

grabbing for the gun just as it fired.

000000ooooo000000

Johnny let out a cry and collapsed as his memories were ripped

from his mind. The bullet's ruined course struck the metal wall

right beside where his head would have been. And as the bullet

struck the wall, it produced a spark. And it was that spark which

ignited the gas leaking into the room.


	77. Demise

The area around the pipe, and the pipe itself, exploded as the gas

ignited, sending Johnny's limp form rolling across the floor from the

sheer force of it.

"Johnny!" Scout cried, unable to run as Matsuda grabbed her arm.

Near turned to the window. The pipe, which led out of the room,

ran across the ceiling out into the rest of the building also exploded,

setting the entire roof on fire.

Aizawa grabbed Johnny's unconcious body and picked him up,

flinging him over his shoulder "COME ON! We have to get out of

here _now_!"

Nobody needed telling twice as they rushed out the door and down

the hall. The ceiling, structuraly unsound before the gas explosion,

was collapsing as it burned, sending piles of rubble showering

around them.

Scout coughed as the smoke stung her eyes. She scanned the floor

in a panicky manner. Shed dropped her Death Note, which Johnny

had given back to her when he'd given his up, so as not to retain

any memories, and she'd dropped it. She spotted it a couple feet

away. She dove for it, snatching it up just as the ever-increasing

flames reached it. Matsuda grabbed her hand again, "Come on!"

he said as they sprinted for the door.

Matsuda felt Scout's hand abruptly jerk away as a particularly

large section of roof fell behind them, which he was barely able to

dodge. He kept running, the exit just ahead.

000000ooooo000000

The group ran outside, Mogi gasped for air, having inhaled some

smoke. Aizawa looked at Near as he too let out a series of cough,

patting his back, "You okay?"

Near pushed his hand away, "I'm fine, Rester..."

"What about the rest of you?"

Ide cleared his throat, "I think it's safe to say we all have some

minor burns but other than that I think we're all in one peice.

Aizawa placed Johnny on the ground as he moaned, becoming

concious once more. He sat up, rubbing his temples.

"What happened...?" He looked around," The last thing I remember

was Near leading us into a room to conront Kira..."

Aizawa let out a sigh.

He'd lost all memories of the Death Note. There was no way they

could convict him NOW.

Johnny looked around, "Where's Scout?"

The group looked around, the Canadian redhead was nowhere

in sight.

Matsuda paled as a faint noise reached his ears.

_'...Help...!'_

"She's still inside!"

"SCOUT!"

Johnny scrambled to his fett, charging at the burning building.

Mogi grabbed his arm, "No! You can't go in there!"

Johnny struggled, "Let go of me! I have to save her!"

"No!" He turned to Rester, "Call the fire department!"

Mogi's grip was like iron, and Johnny had no choice but to watch

as the building burn as the blonde dialed hurriedly on his cell

phone.

* * *

Scout coughed as she called out for help again. The falling

rubble from the roof and pinned her to the floor, it's crushing

weight making it hard to breathas sharp pains danced up her

spine. She tried to drag herself forward, only to find her legs

didn't work.

In fact...she couldn't feel anything below her waist. She realized

the rubble must've broken her back. And even if it hadn't, the

rubble was too heavy to move. As the flames closed in, Scout's

vision began to blur. She was inhaling too much smoke.

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk phased through the ceiling, dropping down beside her and

sitting, crossing his legs.

"Hi, Scout."

Scout looked up at him weakly, blinking her eyes, coughing.

"Ryuk...I can't..." Scout inhaled shakily, coughing, blood droplets

splattered on the floor. Ryuk just looked at her.

Scout looked up at the Shinigami, "It's time, isn't it?"

Ryuk nodded, "Yeah."

Scout let out a shakey sigh, tears, both from the smoke, and not,

slid town her face. " How long?"

"About 5 minutes"

Scout licked her lips, ignoring the slightly copper taste of her own

blood. "Will...will it hurt?"

Ryuk placed a hand on her cheek momentarily, the cool touch

soothing in the midst of the burning flames creeping ever closer.

"No."

He took out his Death Note, grabbing his pen.

" ' Scout Hemmings. Dies peacefully from a heart failure in Four

minutes."

Scout gave a weak smile, "Thank you..."

"No problem."

"Ryuk? Could you do me a favor?"

"Depends."

"I don't want my body to burn up...it;s not fair to my family...

Could you move me outside?"

Ryuk nodded, "That I can do."

He reached down and picked her up, phasing both himself

and Scout through the rubble. She wrapped her arms around

his neck as he flapped his wings, flying out a hole in the

ceiling. He touched down some distance away rom the cops,

not too far from one of the windows. He placed her down gently.

"There. They'll think you crawled out."

"Thanks, Ryuk..." Scout said. She held up her Death Note," I

guess this is your again, huh?"

Ryuk took it from her, "Not until you die."

000000ooooo000000

"Scout!"

The sound of footsteps hurrying over drew Scout's attention. It

was Johnny, Near, and the others. Ryuk flapped his wings and

perched on the roof o a nearby building, the sound of sirens

approaching from the distance.

Johnny dove beside her, "Scout! Are you alright? How'd you get

out?"

"I managed to pull myself out the window..." she lied.

"Well, come on, get up!"

"I can't. Some rubble fell on me and broke my back."

"Then I'll carry you!"

Scout shook her head, "It's no use Johnny...It's too late...This is it

for me."

Johnny clutcher her shoulders tightly, "Don't say that!"

Scout weakly reached up and placed her hands on either side of

his face. She leaned up slightly, placing a soft, kiss on his lips. She

gave a sad smile, her breathing labored as her heart began to slow

"I'm really glad I met you...because I...finally got to see what it

was like...to fall in love with someone..."

"Scout-"

"Goodbye, Johnny..." she said as she relaxed, closing her eyes as

her heart pounded in her ears.

000000ooooo000000

**Thump-thump...thump-thump...thump-thu-**

**silence.**

000000ooooo000000

She lay on the ground, completely still, her hands falling away from

Johnny's face and hitting the ground with quiet thumps.

"Scout?" Johnny asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He shook

her "Scout?"

Pain gripped his heart as realization hit him like a brick wall.

"No...no!"

The investigators looked on silently as he doubled over, sobbing

hysterically, clutching her limp remains to his chest, "SCOUT!

Please, Scout, wake up! WAKE UP! PLEASE!"

Near took a step forward,placing a hand on his shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do...she's gone."

He turned to the others as Fire-trucks, police cars and ambulances

came screaming into the fray.

000000ooooo000000

"What do we tell her parents?" Aizawa asked

Near looked over at where Johnny stood numbly as he was pulled

away to be treated, Scout's body laying on the ground as a doctor

attempted useless recessitation. After a moment they seemed to

give up and pulled the sheet over her head.

"We'll tell them what happened. We had caught Kira, but there was

a struggle. Kira was destroyed in the flames, making Scout his last

victom."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

* * *

As the humans below scurried about in their efforts, Ryuk and Rekab

watched from above. Floating overhead.

"Hey, stop looking so glum," Ryuk said to a depressed-looking Rekab.

"Johnny survived, didn't he?"

"And now he's miserable...And I can't even give him back his memories

or I might well be condemning him to death..."

"Ah, he'll get over it. Humans always do."

Rekab shot Ryuk a dirty look. Ryuk flapped upwards, "Come on. We

have to go back now. The old man's gonna be pretty pissed at what

you tried to do. Better just get it over with."

Rekab sighed and followed Ryuk up into the air, vanishing in a brief

flash of light.

* * *

**_Hi guys! sorry or the wait!_**

**_one chapter left!_**


	78. With Every Ending, A New Begining

Johnny walked down the street, his eyes downcast. It had

been alittle over a week since Scouts death. He felt an

emptiness inside. It was more than just the loss of someone

he loved. There was a sense of loss that something else was

missing. There were bits of memories that were missing, or

non-existant. Like he had forgotten something important...

He didn't notice someone was walking towards him until

they'd slammed into each other.

"Ugh! Hey, what's the-!"

He was cut off when he noticed the person he'd run into was

about 6'8. His clothes were dirty, but in good shape. The

figure looked down at him, "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't see you!

I'm...sort of lost..."

Johnny brushed himself off, "That's alright...what do you mean

lost?"

"I...gosh, it's so embarrassing..." He said, "I don't know where

I am...or WHO I am for that matter...I wokw up in the park a

few days ago and I've been wandering around ever since..."

"Yikes..." Johnny said. He sniffed him subtly. dirty , grime, and

B.O. but he didn't smell like alcohol, or drugs. He held a hand

to his chin "Did you have any forms of Identification on you?"

"No. Just this drawing that was in my pocket" he said, pulling

out a folded sheet of paper. Johnny took it andlooked at it.

"Hey, this looks like something my sister would draw. What's

this word here?" The tall boy looked at it, "Um...I think it's...

R-E-K-A-B."

"Rekab?"

"It does kinda look like me...except the purple skin and blue

hair."

" And those wings. Well, I'm sure we can figure this out...Until

we find out what your name is, we'll just call you Rekab."

"Okay. But how are we gonna do that?"

"You can stay with me until we figure out who you are. I'm

sure mom won't mind. Besides, you MAJORLY need a bath."

The tall figure gave a half-hearted laugh, "Yeah, I guess I do..."

Johnny patted his back, "Come on, big guy, follow me. Hope

you like popcorn, for some reason mom has like 50 boxes of

it."

The taller boy drooled, "Popcorn?"

* * *

Ryuk shook his head as he watched these events from one

of the viewing spheres.

"Heh. Turning him into a human and wiping his memory? That

was Rekab's punishment? I think the old man must be going

soft..."

"Ryuk."

Ryuk turned aorund, facing the bejewled skeleton, "Justin?

What do you want?"

"The King requests your presence."

"What for?"

"Just come with me."

Ryuk sighed and followed. What had he done THIS time?

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk followed Justin all the way to the King's cave. The

Shinigami King had taken his human form, and seemed to be

talking to someone.

"Hey, old man. Justin said you wanted to see me?"

The King of Death turned to him, "Oh, Ryuk, yes. Come here."

Ryuk floated over "So what is it you wanted? Did I break a

rule or something?"

The king chuckled, " No, but that is part of the reason that I

summoned you here. I'd like you to meet someone. He turned

and motioned forward the figure standing behind him.

A female Shinigami stepped forward. She wore a black form

fitting tights. With a black, semi-ruffly sleeveless knee-length

dress with a short front and long sides, along with a black

leather corset fastened around her middle. She had flashing

gold eyes and wild red hair.

And an oddly familiar face.

Ryuk's eyes widened, "Scout?"

the shinigami raised an eyebrow, "Who's Scout?" Her pearly

white teeth were pointed fangs much like his own. "Have we

met before? I have this sense of..."

"This is Déjà vu. Our newest Shinigami" The King said. "I'm

putting her in your charge, to keep you out of trouble."

"Well..."Ryuk said as Déjà vu walked over and looked him

over, "This is...interesting..."

"Take her to the viewing spheres," The King said, handing

the newborn Shinigami a black notebook with the words

**_Note Mortelle _**on the cover.

"Uh...sure thing..." he exited the cave, his new ward close

behind.

000000ooooo000000

Ryuk crouched before the viewing sphere, motioning for his

new companion to sit beside him, "Now just look into this

thing, and think of a place or a name."

Déjà vu leaned forward, the picture moving rapidly as random,

different places crossed her mind.

Unnamed walked by, "Hello Ryuk..."

Ryuk glanced over at him, "Hey, Unnamed."

"Who's that?"

"Déjà vu. She's new."

"Oh, really?" the skull-faced Shinigami said, crouching beside

them.

Déjà vu's eyes flicked over the countless ingividuals of the

human world. a flash of white caught her eyes, she focused

on it. A pale boy with white hair and black eyes.

"Nate River..." she read above his head, her eyes narrowed,

"Why does that name leave a bad taste in my mouth?"

"Probably the same reason I have it in mine," Unnamed said,

peering down at the boy with a sneer. Déjà vu looked over

at Ryuk, "Can I kill him?"

Ryuk made a face, Déjà vu turned to Unnamed, "I don't know

why, but I want him to suffer...You got any idea's?"

Unnamed smirked evily, "I'm sure between the three of us we

can think of something...Right Ryuk?"

Ryuk looked between the two of them. A grin slwly spreading

across his face.

"This is going to be very...VERY...interesting..."

* * *

_**The end**_

_**

* * *

**_

For _**those of you who are wondering why Scout's-**_

_**er Déjà vu's-**__**deathnote says "******__Note Mortelle " __********__it's because _

_********__it's "Death Note" in french. she is__********__ from Canada after all. _

_********__French __********__is a very popular language up there._

**_hope you enoyed the story as much as I enjoyed writing it!_**


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